Nicole and Kathleen: Book of Secrets
by Angelic Prophecy
Summary: Nicole and Kathleen are back in an all new adventure, this time in Book of Secrets! The trip to Cibola takes many unexpected turns, and in the end, the girls are given a proposal that could change their lives forever!
1. I: Going Back

I wandered at the edge of a lake in a small clearing

**I'm back! I know, you're probably thinking "Already?! But we just got rid of you!" Wall, you can't keep me away for long. I can't help myself. I love writing too much.**

**Since so many of you liked Nicole and Kathleen, I wrote a sequel based on a little vote that I took. This takes place during Book of Secrets, just so you know. **

**I do not own either of the National Treasure movies or the characters. They belong to Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer.**

**Well, enjoy this first chapter!**

I wandered at the edge of a lake in a small clearing. I walked towards the trees in the darkness, unaware of the presence of another person. My skirt caught on a fallen branch, and I pulled it off, beginning my journey into the thick woods. The man walking behind me took this opportunity to grab my shoulders. I jumped, frightened by the sudden touch. I spun around and he grabbed my wrists.

"Where have you been?" I looked deep into his crystal blue eyes, which were full of pain and hurt.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my voice quavering slightly.

"You know what I mean." His eyes narrowed, and I could feel myself trembling. "You left me."

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "But I didn't have a choice."

"But I needed you!" He exclaimed, developing an angry tone. "After you left, everything fell apart! Why did you leave?"

"Please, don't do this!" I began to cry. "You know I couldn't help it. I'm sorry! I wanted to come back, but I couldn't!"

"Like I'm supposed to belie-" He stopped mid-sentence as a shot rang out, echoing through the trees. He began to shake and he looked down as blood soaked through his white top. He fell back against a tree, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to speak. "Help me." He mouthed. "Help me, Kathleen."

"RILEY!"

--

"RILEY!"

I gasped, bolting upright in bed. I was clutching the sheet so tightly my knuckles were white, and I was breathing heavily. The sheets and my night gown were soaked. One hand flew to my mouth, as if I were going to be sick. _This is all my fault. He almost died because of me. _

"It was only a nightmare." I murmured to myself. The silence around me was overwhelming, and a soft breeze stirred the curtain. I looked at the clock, still trying to calm my racing heart. 5:32 AM. I took a deep breath and swung my legs around, getting out of bed. I walked over the window, letting the breeze cool me off.

This was the fourth time I'd had that dream in one week. I looked down at my hand, looking closely at the diamond ring on my finger. I twisted it around until it slid off. I fingered it delicately for a moment, and then slid it back on. Riley had given me that ring exactly 4 months before.

"Riley…"

I missed him, maybe more than I realized. Had it really been 4 whole months since I'd actually been able to touch him, to kiss him? I sighed deeply, fingering the ring again. I'd never realized what the ring had been for. There was probably no way I could ask him….

And then I remembered something: Nicole and I were having a sleepover at her house later. I felt a smile spread across my face. I knew exactly what I wanted to bring along. In a burst of excitement, I grabbed the DVD case and tucked it into my backpack with the other things I planned to bring along.

--

I rang the doorbell at Nicole house, bouncing up and down on my feet. Nicole opened the door, an apple in hand. I couldn't help smiling. She was always eating whenever I came to visit, it seemed.

"Hey! What's up?" She asked as I walked into her room.

"I brought something." I said with a small smile. I pulled out the DVD, and her shoulders immediately slumped.

"No, Kathleen…" She started.

"Come on, Nikki! It's been 4 months!" I pleaded. "I need to see him."

"I think you're a bit obsessed." She said, starting up to her room.

I followed her up the stairs. "I'm passionate."

"What's the difference?! Besides, I don't really want to go, Kathleen. We all nearly got killed last time! I don't want to drown in the City of Gold or fall off the teetering platform of doom!" She fell onto her bed.

"Please? It won't last as long as last time." I opened my eyes wide and stuck out my bottom lip.

"Not the puppy eyes!" She groaned. "You know that's my weakness!" She sighed, and sat for a moment, considering it. Then she snatched the case from my hands and opened it.

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" I gushed. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm only doing this so you'll stop moping around, you know. Ever since we left the first movie, all you've done is talk about Riley. It gets kind of annoying." She said, opening the drawer of her DVD player and popping in the disc. I shrugged innocently. She sighed, plopping down in front of the television. "One trip into National Treasure: Book of Secrets, coming right up."

I sat through the introduction, barely able to contain my nerves. Would he remember me? What if he didn't remember me? Would I have to explain everything to him again? As I attempted to tone down my worries, I felt a familiar pulling sensation, and the screen in front of me turned to static. Then as I was pulled forward, everything went black.

**I know it was short, but it was more like a prologue. **

**Anyways, did you like it? Please be honest, I won't be offended if you say you hate it.**

**Push the periwinkle button. Yes its periwinkle. Not purple, not blue. PERIWINKLE! Ahem. Excuse me.**


	2. II: A Discovery

In the blink of an eye, I was standing in an alley

**YAY, an update! I told you one would be here soon, though this wasn't as soon as I'd hoped it would be.**

**Ah, well, I don't own National Treasure. Now go read it!!**

--

In the blink of an eye, I was standing in an alley. I stumbled back, a bit surprised. At first, I wasn't sure where I was. Then I saw a familiar red Ferrari parked across the street and felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement explode inside me. I walked out of the alley, brushing some dirt off my jeans, and looked in the window of the Borders stores. I opened the door and approached the table where Riley sat, a bit anxious. I picked up one of the books on the table, attempting to look nonchalant. Something inside me kept me from looking him in the eyes.

"Riley Poole…" I murmured, a smile creeping onto my face. "You helped Ben Gates find the treasure right?"

"Yes, I did." Riley said, proudly. I looked up, looking deeply into his blue eyes. Something seemed to click, as he looked at me thoughtfully. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"I think so." I said, setting the book back down. I tried to choose my next words carefully. "We met during the treasure hunt, if I recall correctly. Does a magic TV ring a bell?"

His eyes widened in recognition. "Kathleen?"

I let out a sigh of relief. "Riley." A grin spread out across my face. "I wasn't sure if you'd remember."

"I don't know how I could forget, though it's been nearly two years." He commented, putting emphasis on the last couple words.

"Two years, hmm?" I asked thoughtfully, picking up the book. "What exactly have you been doing for the past two years?"

He turned crimson. "I've mainly been working on my book."

Before I had a chance to say anything else, a blonde girl walked up to the table. "Oh, wow. Is this a book about the Templar Treasure?" She asked, sounding a bit interested.

"Yes, it is about the Templar treasure, but it's also about other things. Conspiracy theories, urban legends and other myths that are true." Riley explained.

"So… The author's here signing copies?" She raised her eyebrows, looking even more interested. I bit my tongue, looking down at the book as I flipped to a random page. _Chapter 13. Ironic._

"I'm the author."

"You are?" She asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, see. There's a picture of me right there." Riley pointed at the picture on the dust jacket. I peered at the picture, and then began to ignore the conversation, not really interested.

"Oh, I've never heard of you." The blonde commented with a little laugh, setting the book down on the table on walking away.

"Oh." He said bitterly. I smiled sympathetically.

"Hey, she's one girl." I shrugged, setting down the book I was holding.

"You're right." Riley said, perking up again.

Suddenly a brunette walked up to the table, looking at one of the books. _Here we go. _"Oh my gosh, are you Ben Gates?"

"Yes, yes I am." Riley said. I held back a snicker.

"Do you own a red Ferrari?"

Riley took off his glasses, obviously trying to impress the girl. "Yes I do."

"Well it's being towed." She indicating the tow truck across the street. Riley laughed nervously for a moment, then jumped up and bolted out the door, knocking over his chair on his way out. I felt sorry for him, but I couldn't help laughing anyways. The brunette gave me a funny look, walking away.

"WAIT! THAT'S MY CAR!" Riley bolted down the street after the tow truck. I covered my mouth, setting down the book and walking out the door. Riley walked back down the sidewalk, looking both embarrassed and sour.

"That's just the icing on the stale cake." He muttered. I patted his back.

"Let's pack up, Riley."

--

After everything had been packed up, we started heading towards Riley's apartment.

"So…" He began. "How've you been for the past…"

"4 months." I said with a small smile. "I've been alright. A bit lonely. I had a little bit of trouble readjusting to everything, but I was OK over all."

"That's good." He paused for a moment. I looked at the ridiculous looking cardboard cutout under his arm. "I just wanted to be sure nothing happened that I should be aware of."

"What d'you mean?" I asked quizzically. His cheeks turned red.

"I dunno. I mean like..." He shrugged. I suddenly realized that this would be a great chance to mess with him a little bit. I made my face as serious as possible.

"Well, I did just find something out the other day." I pretended to be nervous as I spoke to him.

"What would that be?"

"I'm pregnant."

"You're WHAT?!" His eyes grew wide and he began to panic. "Oh my god! Oh my GOD! Are you serious?!"

I looked at him, trying to stay serious. But the corner of my mouth twitched, and I began to giggle a little bit. "No."

He put a hand to his heart and glared at me as I began to grin at him. "That was NOT funny, Kathleen!"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be so over-dramatic about it, Riley. It was a joke." I reminded him, putting emphasis on the word joke.

He just scowled at me, muttering something about how it still wasn't funny. I rolled my eyes again and continued walking down the sidewalk, the cart of books rolling behind me.

_**Nicole**_

I wandered through the halls of what appeared to be a museum of some sort. I slipped in the door of the auditorium just as Ben was concluding his speech. I slid into an empty seat near the bottom of the auditorium.

"- operating in the North to subvert Union forces. Had Thomas not burned the legendary missing pages from the Booth diary, the killers may have found a vast treasure of gold, and the Union very may well have lost the Civil War. Thank you."

Applause rang out all over the room, and I clapped as well, though I could honestly care less about Ben's lecture. A man whose name I think was Dr. Nichols walked up to the podium.

"I'd like to thank Ben and Patrick Gates, and say what a wonderful addition Thomas Gates is to our Civilian Heroes exhibit." More clapping. I sighed, going along with the crowd.

"Thank you, Dr. Nichols." Patrick said. "I only wish my grandfather were here to see this wonderful day." He gave one last wave to the crowd.

Suddenly a man in the very top of the auditorium spoke up. "Excuse me, I have a question I'd like to ask." He called out, his Southern accent unmistakable. "What do you think happened to the Booth diary page that was pulled out of the fire?"

I rolled my eyes. "Here it comes…." I muttered to myself.

"We may never know."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." The man leaned forward, resting his folded hands on the railing. "You see, I have one of those great-great-granddaddies, like you, way up in my family tree, name of Silas Wilkinson. He used to tell a story about the night Lincoln was shot..."

By now I was completely ignoring Wilkinson, having heard this speech several times.

"How absurd." Ben shook his head slightly.

"That's a lie!" Patrick countered.

"Ladies and gentlemen…" Wilkinson opened his briefcase and stood up. "…I present to you one of the missing pages from the infamous diary of John Wilkes Booth, with the name Thomas Gates written on a list with all the other killers."

A look of disbelief and anger flickered across Ben's face, and then he just stood there, paralyzed. Everyone in the auditorium began muttering amongst themselves, and continued to do so as they walked out. I made my way up to the states.

"Ben!" I called out, and he looked at me, seeming to immediately recognize me.

"Nicole? What are you doing here?" He asked in disbelief.

I shrugged "Kathleen and I came into the second movie in my magic TV." I said in a hushed whisper.

"Ah." He nodded. "Speaking of Kathleen, where is she?"

"I dunno. She's probably making out with Riley, wherever he is." I rolled my eyes. Ben shrugged and the two of us, plus Patrick, Mitch, and Dr. Nichols stood up on the stage. I held up a hand, wiggling my fingers at Patrick in a small wave. He gave me a small smile, but still looked very troubled, but I couldn't really blame the guy.

"Latin?" Dr. Nichols asked, sounding a bit confused.

"Booth was student of Latin. He shouted _'Sic Semper Tyrannis'_ after he shot Lincoln. 'Thus always…."

"We already know what it means!" I cried a bit impatiently. Mitch looked a bit annoyed.

Dr. Nichols looked at the page closely. "Surratt, _copiae_?" He murmured.

"Mary Surratt was convicted and hanged for supplying Booth with a rifle and field glasses."

Ben walked up to the screen, deep in thought, his eyes fixated on one name in particular. "Thomas Gates." He said bitterly. "_Artifex_."

"Designer, or mastermind." Mitch said. "He must've… planned the assassination."

"I see." Ben answered with a little sigh. I patted him on the back, trying to be sympathetic.

"It could mean mastermind of anything!" Patrick nearly snapped. "See that?" He pointed at the singed edge of the page. "Burned out right there."

"I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you."

"Stop trying to act like you're sorry. If you were sorry, you would've kept your diary page to yourself." I said defiantly.

"I felt it was an important artifact that needed to be brought forth." Mitch said, keeping his voice level.

I bit my tongue, holding back my comments. I could already hear Kathleen's voice in the back of my head. 'You're going to ruin everything!'

"May I, Mr…"

"Wilkinson." We said simultaneously. I bit my lip.

"You said it during your little speech." I covered quickly.

"I'll just see if this new page matches the Booth diary." Dr. Nichols took the page out of the protective sleeve and walked over to the display where the diary was kept.

"This is an outrage!" Patrick shouted. "You're calling my grandfather a liar!"

Mitch looked at him calmly. "Well, with all due respect, sir, now you're calling my great-great-grand-daddy a liar."

"Yes, sir, I am! This isn't some garbage from a history book! My grandfather told me this story himself, I saw the truth of it in his eyes!"

I saw Ben put a hand on his father's shoulder, trying to hold him back. I stood there in silence, not sure what to do. The tension in the room was crushing me.

"I'm sorry, sir, I truly am." Mitch apologized. Dr. Nichols put the diary on the magnifier and put on the page. It was a perfect fit. Ben touched his mouth, at a loss for words. I patted him on the back again.

"I'm sorry, Ben." I whispered.

Dr. Nichols looked sorry too. "We'll test this thoroughly, Patrick. To authenticate it."

"It can't be." Patrick muttered.

--

After a tense and silent car ride, we went to Patrick's house. He began looking through boxes, defeated.

"Maps to presidents' houses, keys to lock that don't exist." He mumbled. "What am I looking for? Proof? What proof?

Ben sighed, watching his father for a moment. He ran a hand through his hair, opening the front door and leaving. I followed him to his car.

"Where you going?"

"We're going to go see Riley about something." He muttered, getting into the front seat. "Get in."

--

**Well, I didn't like it that much. Too much from the script in this chapter, if you ask me. The next chapters should have more from Nicole and Kathleen, though.**

**Please review and Thanks for reading!**

**-PI**


	3. III: The Cipher

**Ah, another chapter. Between my three stories, I must be on a roll! This is, what, the 4****th**** or 5****th**** new chapter in the past 2 days? I'm a bit amazed that I'm getting all this done so quickly.**

**I suppose its quality that counts though. I hope you like the new chapter!**

**-OoOoOoO-**

_**Kathleen**_

We finally arrived at Riley's apartment, and we found Ben and Nicole waiting on the steps. I sat next to Nicole and gave her a little hug. Ben acknowledged me with a curt nod, and I smiled back.

"Where's the Ferrari?" Ben asked, marking his place in the book in was reading.

"It got towed." I said.

"IRS impounded it." Riley said, looking a bit miserable. He sat down on the ledge.

"IRS?"

"Funny story. My accountant set up a _corporation_..." Riley winked as he spoke. "…on an island that didn't exist, and assured me that's how _rich people_ do it."

I rolled my eyes, having heard this story several times during our trip. "Then he got audited and slapped with a _huge_ fine. _Plus interest_."

"Yeah, do you know what the taxes are on 5 million dollars?"

"6 million dollars." Nicole and I said at once

I grinned. "We know, sweetie."

He scowled. "But enough about me..." He said with a fake smile. "What's new with you?"

"Well, my girlfriend kicked me out, I'm living with my dad, and my family killed President Lincoln." Ben said bitterly. He sighed. "I need your help."

"Does it involve treasure?" Riley asked, his eyes lighting up. I glanced at Nicole, and she looked back. We both sighed, rolling our eyes. We knew where this was headed.

**-OoOoO-**

"I can't believe you have to break into your own house." Riley said in disbelief as we walked through the courtyard at Ben's, (actually, Abigail's) Victorian mansion.

"I need to get Abigail's ID badge. She has access to the Booth diary page."

"Well, why not just call her up and say, 'Abby, can I borrow you ID badge for a little while?' " Nicole asked, sarcastically. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"She changed the alarm codes! She's not going to talk to me!" Ben cried in exasperation.

"Ah, yes, changing the alarm codes! A definite sign that they're broken up!" I said with a grin. We walked up to the door and Riley pulled off his handy-dandy backpack.

"Alright, we've got 30 seconds after the alert starts to disable the alarm. Ready?" He looked around at all of us with a little nod. "Go."

He opened the door of the mansion, and a beeping started. We all walked in, and I rested against the railing on the steps as Riley got to work.

"I'm probably gonna regret asking this…" Riley began as he worked. "But what happened between you and Abigail?"

"I don't know, you know? I don't know. She started using the word 'so' a lot." Ben seemed to reflect on the many arguments he'd had with his ex.

"So?" Riley probed with a little smirk. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, like, 'So, I guess you always know what's best.', 'So, I guess my opinion doesn't matter', 'So, I guess I'm invisible!' So I moved out, and we're dividing the furniture, and…" Ben trailed off.

"Women. Can't live with 'em, especially if they change the alarm codes." Riley put the cover back on the alarm box. I put my hands on my hips.

"I resent that remark, Mr. Poole." I said with a scowl. He stuck his tongue out at me as Ben looked at his watch.

"You did that in 25 seconds." He said, looking a bit impressed.

"That's why I tell people to get a dog." Riley said with a smile, starting up the stairs. Nicole looked confused.

"What does that mean?!"

"Never mind." I sighed.

We all walked up to Abigail's office. "Got it!" Ben grabbed the badge from the desk drawer.

"All right, let's go." Riley said, spinning back around. Suddenly a set of bright headlights swept across the room.

"We got company!" Nicole shouted.

"That's not Abigail's car…" Ben looked out the window, and his jaw suddenly clenched. "She's on a date."

"Is that…that guy? The White House guy?" Riley paused, and then giggled. "He's weird!"

"You guys broke up. She's hot. It happens. Let's go." Nicole said quickly. Ben looked confused, but we all dashed down the stairs.

"Wow, what clever repartee. She must really like him." Riley said, rushing down the stairs. He grabbed my hand and we ducked into a closet, while Nicole hid in Abigail's bathroom. I quickly shut the door. The closet was….cramped, to say the least. I could feel his breath on my face, and our bodies were dangerously close.

"We need to stay quiet." He whispered

"_Ben, what are you doing here?"_

I looked at Riley for a long moment, my entire body tingling in anticipation. Every place we touched burned. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Oh, screw it!" I said under my breath. I suddenly grabbed him by the tie, our lips crashing together. He didn't seem to mind at all. His hands rested on my waist, and his tongue advanced into my mouth.

"_Riley, come out here!"_

We ignored her, and he pressed me against the wall, still kissing me passionately. I swiftly began unbuttoning his vest as he pulled away from my lips, moving to the crook of my neck. I let out a quiet moan, enjoying every minute of this. He pressed his lips against mine agaim

I was just beginning to unbutton his shirt when the door opened, and a bright light poured into the closet. Abigail stood there, her arms crossed over her chest. I smiled weakly, my face going beet red.

"Hi Abby. It's…uh… been a while." I said nervously, handing Riley his vest back.

"Awkward…" Riley said under his breath, buttoning his shirt back up. Abigail spun back around, facing Ben.

"I cannot believe you broke in! What'd you take?"

"Just my… things." Ben said weakly. He obviously didn't fool Abigail, because she stuck out her hand.

"Hand it over Ben."

He said resignedly. "I need to see the Booth diary page."

"You saw the page yourself!" Abigail cried. "There is no treasure map on it!" She set off down the hall, and Nicole poked her head out of the bathroom, looking at me.

"What were you two doing in there?" She whispered.

"We were just…" I bit my lip looking down at the floor. She seemed to understand, because she started grinning at me.

"Just couldn't keep yourself off him, could you?"

I blushed crimson, turning back to Riley, who'd fixed his vest. He looked just about as red as me. I walked down the hall, following Ben and Abigail.

"Come on Abigail, one look under infrared." He suddenly stopped "You can have the Boston Tea Tables."

Abigail stopped too, and I knew she was smiling in satisfaction. Then she spun around, looking completely serious.

"Both of them?"

Ben had just struck a deal.

**-OoOoO-**

I rested my head on Riley's shoulder, exhausted. It was well past midnight, and we were still sitting in the lab at the Archives, scanning the diary page.

"We've been looking at this page for hours." Riley said, sounding as exhausted as I felt. "There's nothing there."

Ben rubbed his eyes tiredly, and Abigail sighed. "Ben, I really don't think we're going to find anything on this page."

"There's got to be something there." I murmured.

"Look at it this way. In 100 years, no one's going to remember anyone involved in the Lincoln assassination besides Booth." Riley commented.

"That's not true." Ben shook his head. "Do you know the expression 'His name is mud'?"

"Yes, of course." Riley nodded.

"Really, you do?" Ben rubbed his eyes again. "Do you know the origin of that expression?"

"Does anyone but you?" Riley countered with a little nod. I grinned at him. He just had the cutest little habits.

"Dr. Samuel Mudd…"

"People said he was involved in the assassination, he was later pardoned, but his name still lives in infamy, blah, blah, blah." Nicole rolled her eyes.

"Exactly." Ben pointed a finger at Nicole, and a ghost of a smile formed on his lips.

"Ben?" Abigail said suddenly. She pointed at the screen. "Take a look at this." A brown mark was beginning to appear.

"Oh." Ben breathed. "This is quite something, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it says 'smudge'" Riley said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"A smudge that looks an awful lot like an X" I replied. We all turned our head to the side, trying to get a better look.

"Residual ink from the facing page. Flip it." Ben ordered. Abigail did so, and Ben's face broke into a grin. "It's a cipher."

"Yes!" Abigail exclaimed.

"A cipher! See how the letters are coupled? Playfair ciphers encode letters in pairs!"

"Somebody's excited!" Nicole said in sing-song. Ben nodded.

"This could prove Grandpa Charles's story!"

Abigail, however, looked a bit wary. "Unless you decode the cipher, this does not prove your theory."

"No, no that's OK. We just need a five-letter keyword."

"What is it?" Nicole and Riley asked simultaneously.

Ben sighed a bit. "I don't know yet."

"Alright…." Riley said. I grinned up at Ben.

"Congratulations. Maybe you're not related to a killer after all."

"Thanks." This reply sounded rather sarcastic. "Can I get a printout of this?"

"Well, there's billions of words in the English language, let's start from the beginning. A…Aardvark?" Riley suggested.

"That's not 5 letters." I reminded him. I heard soft breathing beside me, and realized with a laugh that Nicole had fallen asleep on the desk

"Ben…" Abigail said tentatively, standing by the printer. "I don't think this is going to stop Dr. Nichols from announcing the discovery of the page…tomorrow."

"No, wait. Can't you just ask him to wait until I prove Thomas is innocent."

Abigail sighed, rolling her eyes at Ben's stubbornness. "What if he isn't innocent?" She snatched up the printout and walked out, leaving the rest of us alone while Ben stood there, dumbfounded.

"It'll be OK, Ben." I said softly. "Now let's go crack this code."

**-OoOoOoO-**

**Well, that wasn't too bad, was it? I hope not. **

**Ah, well, is there a review in it for me?**


	4. IV: Cracking the Code

**Here's ANOTHER update from me! Yay!**

**And if you look REAL close, you might see a hint or two about events to happen later… I wonder… -grins- **

**-OoOoOoO-**

_**Kathleen**_

Not even an hour later, we were sitting in Patrick's dining room, trying to crack the cipher. I thought I was going to lose my mind, sitting there, watching and waiting, when I knew the answer. I sighed, my head hitting the table.

"You OK?"

I looked up at Riley, who looked a bit exhausted himself. "How are you not falling asleep?"

He held up a mug. "Coffee. It's a magical drink!" He took a long sip and set the mug back down.

"Bacon…" He pondered out loud as Ben looked on. "No, that's stupid. How's he doing?" Riley asked, referring to Patrick.

"Keep working." Ben told him. He patted Riley's shoulder and left the room.

"Nicole asleep?" He asked, typing in the word 'baron'.

I nodded. "Sleeping like a log."

He nodded. I could hear bits and pieces of the conversation in the den.

"_They have no understanding."_

"_You know the truth, that's all that matters."_

"I feel kind of sorry for them." I said thoughtfully. "I mean, they finally got some respect for their family and then some guy has to come and take that away."

"I know." Riley nodded in agreement. He bit his lip. "So…"

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm just trying to start a conversation. I'm really bored." He moaned, continuing to type in different words.

"Me too." I paused, not sure what else to say. "Did you have any girlfriends while I was gone?"

Riley's face went pink. "Well, I did have the occasional…fling, I suppose. There just wasn't any… spark, y'know? Like with _you_, there was some sort of connection, but with every other girl I met…" He trailed off.

"Hmm…" I thought about what he'd said for a moment.

"Try death!" Ben suddenly cried from the next room.

"What?" Riley sounded tired and confused.

"It's the key-code! The debt that all men pay is death." Ben said.

Riley typed in the word. "L-A-B-O-U-L… Laboo…Labow…La… It's gibberish."

Ben thought for a moment. "Laboulaye!" He suddenly cried.

"Laboulaye!" Riley exclaimed, hitting the table in excitement. "What is that?"

I giggled, unable to help myself. There was just something too adorable about his confusion.

"It's a who." Ben corrected. "Edouard Laboulaye. Where's the phone?" He asked, a spark of excitement lighting up in his eyes.

"And who's Edouard Laboulaye?" Riley asked, obviously confused.

"He was a French guy." I explained. Riley shrugged, still looking confused.

As Ben searched for the phone, Nicole came down the stairs, rubbing her eyes. "I heard shouting. What's going on? Is the house on fire?"

"No, we cracked the cipher." I said with a smile. "L-A-B-O-U-L….dash, dash… E-L-A-D." I read the letters off the computer.

"Ben looks happy." She observed, watching as Ben was talking on the phone. I could've sworn I saw a smile flicker across her face, but it was gone in a split second.

"Or maybe there was a treasure map like Thomas GATES said there was, and Laboulaye had it." Ben said into the phone. "We've only got a partial on the next word. L-A-D…Lad, ladder…"

"Aladdin…Aladdin?" Riley suggested.

"Thank you, Abigail." Ben breathed. "Laboulaye Lady." He walked off, beginning a rant. "Do you know what Laboulaye was planning around the time Lincoln was assassinated?" He was clearly excited about this find. "There's a map, or a clue to map on the Statue…" He trailed off, lifting the phone away from his ear in disbelief. "She hung up!"

"She took your call, that was good." Patrick pointed out.

"Wait a minute." Nicole said suddenly. "I think I heard about this in History class! Edouard Laboulaye was the guy who designed the Statue of Liberty, right?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, he was." Ben looked rather impressed, and a smile formed on his lips. Nicole smiled back.

"So, you're saying that there's a treasure map on the Statue of Liberty?" Riley said excitedly, walking towards Ben.

"Laboulaye was a Mason." Patrick said. "They built clues into everything."

"Did you learn that from my book?" Riley asked. Patrick pursed his lips, looking rather sheepish. Riley's shoulders drooped a little bit, and he looked a little disappointed. I walked up behind him, patting his shoulder.

"So the only question is, which Statue of Liberty?" Patrick asked. I nodded.

"Exactly! Wait, is there more than one?" Riley looked confused again.

"There are three, actually, Riley." Patrick began. "One is in New York. One is in the Luxembourg Gardens…"

"But he only referred to one as his lady."

Nicole and I looked at each other. "Looks like we're off to Paris!" I cried happily. "The City of Lights!"

"The most romantic city on Earth!" Nicole cried dramatically. I rolled my eyes. Riley looked at me with a grin, and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Don't get any ideas, Mister. This trip is strictly business."

"Aw man!" He cried. I slapped him playfully.

"We gotta pack." I reminded him. Ben walked over to Riley, handing him his car keys.

"You can go to your apartment, get some sleep, pack up, whatever. Meet us at the airport at 7:00 sharp. And _be careful_ with that car." He warned.

"Yes sir." Riley straightened his face, saluting Ben. He suddenly broke into a grin, walking off towards the door.

"How're you gonna get there?" I asked.

"Dad can take me."

"Alright, let's go." Riley said, heading towards the door. I followed him.

"Nicole, you staying here?"

I received no reply, as Nicole had fallen asleep again on the table. I rolled my eyes, and shut the door behind me.

Riley got into Ben's car, which was rather neat and tidy compared to the house. "I want my car back!" He cried, his forehead resting on the steering wheel. I slid into the front seat, kissing his cheek. "I loved that car. So, so much!"

"More than me?" I gasped. "Alright, I see how it is." I folded my arms, looking out the window in mock hurt.

"No, never! You're much prettier than a car. Unless that car was _REALLY_ shiny… Then I might reconsider…OW!"

I smacked him on the arm. He rubbed it as he pulled away from me with a yelp. "That hurt!"

"I know." I said with a smirk. "Now let's go. We've got stuff to do. We're going to Paris tomorrow!"

**-OoOoOoO-**

**Ah, I don't know if I like this chapter…. Ah, well, what'd you think? Review!**

**Press the magical button! The magical button of hope and wonder! (Sorry, had too much sugar…:P) **


	5. V: Unexpected

Nicole

**PARIS! YAY! FROM NICOLE'S POV! YAY!**

**I want to go there someday. It sounds awesome!**

**Well enough about me! Here's the chapter! YAY!**

**Disclaimer:**

**If I **_**owned**_** this movie, do you think I'd spend my time writing fan fiction? Thought not.**

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

_**Nicole**_

After a rather long flight and several hours of whining on Riley's part, we arrived in Paris. I had to admit, it was a beautiful city. The Seine River was probably my favorite part of the city. Shortly after our arrival, we went to see Lady Liberty. The statue was much smaller compared to the one in New York, but the view was pretty awesome all the same.

I leaned on the railing, bored out of my mind though, as we searched for our next clue.

"This is, like, impossible, what you're doing." Ben grinned as Riley expertly flew his helicopter around the statue.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it." Riley commented. Kathleen stood next to him, looking intrigued.

"Where'd you learn to fly a remote-control helicopter like that?" She asked, looking impressed.

Riley shrugged. "I had _a lot_ of free time as a kid." He muttered.

"He had to leave a clue somewhere on here…" Ben said, looking deep in thought. "Move in on the torch."

"Alright, let me get there. It's not as easy as it looks." Riley remarked.

I rolled my eyes. "It can't possibly be that hard."

Riley opened his mouth to retort, but a police officer across the bridge shouted something in French. Ben and I crossed the street to talk to him.

"Excuse me, officer, may I help you?" Ben asked.

"Ah, American, eh?" The officer said, sounding none too pleased. "Of course you see no problem interrupting everyone's pleasant morning with your buzzing there." He motioned towards the helicopter.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" I asked, looking at the officer sternly.

"Hey, do you know how much our Constitution was influenced by your man Montesquieu?" Ben was obviously trying to get off the subject.

"You know Montesquieu?" The officer and his buddy looked impressed. Ben nodded, beginning to grin. They recited off some line that I had never heard before and didn't really care about, though I tried to appear interested.

"Ben, I got it!" Riley cried triumphantly, running across the bridge. "I got it!" He handed Ben the control, pointing at the monitor. "I hope you read French."

"Well, Laboulaye was French. It makes sense that he chose to write it in French." I pointed out.

"May I?" The officer offered. Ben nodded, handing him the remote.

"He's a cop." Riley said through clenched teeth, looking a bit nervous.

The two officers read off the clue, while Ben listened closely to every word, deep in thought. He began pacing around, thinking even harder.

"'These twins stand resolute'… Resolute twins… Resolute. Resolute… And then twins… Siamese Twins? Siam? Trade routes between France and Thailand! That's ridiculous…."

I looked on, impressed. The guy knew his stuff, I had to admit that. And there was something about him that I really liked. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I suddenly found myself fighting the color that threatened to rise in my cheeks. Even I didn't understand what this meant at first. Then it struck me like a lightning bolt.

_I was falling in love with him!_

"HMS Resolute!" He suddenly cried. "A British ship that got lost in the Arctic in the 1800's. It was salvaged by American whalers, and when the ship was finally retired, Queen Victoria had two desks made from its timbers. Voila! Resolute twins!" A grin spread across his face.

"Where are those desks now?" The French cop asked,

"The closest one is in Buckingham Palace in London." Kathleen answered.

"Riley, how fast can we get there?" Ben asked.

Riley shrugged. "I don't know, why don't you ask your new best friends?" Ben held out his hands in a _what-do-you-mean? _sort of gesture.

The cop's friend said something in French, and the one that spoke English translated. "His going to call you a cab."

"_Merci beaucoup_." Ben and I said simultaneously. Our eyes met, and I smiled a little bit at him. I had a feeling the next week or so was going to very difficult….

**-OoOoO-**

Later at the hotel, I was laying on the bed in the room Kathleen and I were sharing. I sighed, staring up at the patterns on the ceiling while I contemplated everything. I was alone, because Kathleen and Riley were out on a date somewhere in the city.

I jumped when I heard a knock on the door. I quickly stood and opened the door.

"Oh, Ben." My heart flipped. "What's up?" I tried to sound as casual as possible.

"I just wanted to know if you'd eaten yet." He shrugged. "I was just going to go downstairs to that little café and grab a bite."

"Oh." I blinked. "No, I can't say I have."

"OK, well do you want to come with?" He asked. I looked up, my eyes meeting his. There was something in his eyes that hit me.

"Uh, yeah, sure." I spun around, grabbing my purse. "Let's go."

The elevator ride was quiet until we stepped out into the small restaurant. We sat down, grabbing a few menus. We ordered our drinks, and finally he spoke up.

"So, you like history?"

It was a typical question for him. "Yeah, I guess so." I shrugged. "Actually, I never really liked it until now. It just has a new meaning now, I suppose." I thoughtfully took a sip from my Pepsi. "We can always learn from our mistakes."

"What do you mean?" He asked quizzically.

"Well, history tells us all about the mistakes we've made in the past and how we could keep ourselves from making the same mistakes."

"Hmm…" He mulled over this a minute. "I never really thought of it that way."

I shrugged, and we sat in silence for another moment.

"You're a really smart girl." He commented. "I like that."

A sudden burst of heat exploded in my cheeks. "Thanks. You're a lot smarter than me though. I don't think I could ever figure out half the things you do."

Our eyes met from across the table, and my heart skipped a beat. Suddenly I was leaning forward, and our lips brushed. My heart sped up as I leaned forward slightly more, pressing my lips against his. My hands were clasped in his. My entire body seemed to tingle with some new feeling that I didn't recognize.

A minute later I pulled away from him, nervously touching my lips. "Wow." I whispered, trying to catch my breath. "That was…"

"Unexpected?" He finished, mirroring my nervous and slightly embarrassed expression. I didn't dare look down, afraid that he would catch sight of the heat that had risen in my cheeks.

I glanced down at my lap, a small smile beginning to form on my lips. "Wow…"

**-OoOoO-**

_**Kathleen**_

Riley and I walked back into the hotel, his arm around my waist as we talked. I looked casually towards the small restaurant in the hotel and stopped dead in my tracks.

"Oh my god!" I gaped at the sight before me. "Do you see what I think I'm seeing?"

"Depends. Do you think you're seeing Ben and Nicole kissing?" He asked, sounding as astonished as I was. I nodded wordlessly, my mouth hanging open. "Then yes."

I saw Nicole pulling out of the kiss and I let out a small yelp, quickly moving out of the doorway.

"Am I on one of those hidden camera shows?" Riley asked slowly, looking around the lobby. I shook my head.

"No." I whispered. "I don't think so…" I suddenly grabbed his wrists, pulling him towards the elevator.

"Hey!" He shouted. "What are you doing?"

"We can't let them think we've been spying!" I whispered, pressing the elevator button. I could see a love triangle forming sometime in the near future…

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

**A love triangle? (gasp!) We'll see how that turns out, won't we?**

**Well, you know the drill guys! Review!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-AP**


	6. VI: Crash Course in Hacking

**Here's part of the scene from London! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: This movie isn't mine. Only Nicole and Kathleen are.**

_-OoOoOoO-_

_**Kathleen**_

By the time we arrived in London, I was nearly dying of curiosity. I hadn't seen any other signs of anything happening between Nicole and Ben, and Nicole hadn't said anything so far. I did see them occasionally glance at each other and smile, and sometimes Nicole would make an excuse to slip away, and knew she was going to meet him.

By 8:00 that morning, we were sitting in the hotel room, formulating our plot to break in to Buckingham Palace. Riley sat at his laptop, and I sat beside him, while Nicole sat on the edge of the bed on the other side of the room and Ben stood behind Riley's chair.

"The Queen's office is here, and the elevator shaft gets you close, but the only direct access…" Riley tapped the screen with his fingers. "… is through security."

"Well that sounds fun!" Nicole said sarcastically, playing with a rubber band out of sheer boredom. Ben's phone rang, and he starting talking to his father.

"Hey Dad." There was a pause while Patrick spoke on the other end. "Call the police, I'm coming home."

"What happened?" Riley asked, and I could somehow sense that he was nervous. I put a hand his arm gently, listening to the conversation.

"We're in London. We're going to Buckingham Palace. We have an appointment with the curator tomorrow afternoon."

I could imagine Wilkinson listening in on the other end, and I briefly considered telling Ben about Wilkinson's plan. I decided against it though. I reminded myself I couldn't tell them very much.

Ben hung up his phone. "Someone else is after the treasure."

"Of course someone else is after the treasure. It's the axiom of treasure hunting." Riley said with a small sigh.

"We need to hurry and see that desk." Ben said. I nodded.

"Way I see it, we'll need a way to get into the security room." Nicole said. She set down her rubber band, running her fingers through her hair. "We could always create a disturbance."

"What do you mean?" Ben asked curiously. He sat down on the bed next to her.

"I dunno. You could always go in and act like a drunk. Or Kathleen and Riley could have a little lover's spat." She shrugged.

"But I'm gonna be working the computer." Riley reminded her.

"Not necessarily. I could do it. After all, you did teach me a lot about hacking when I was here, right."

"But you don't know all the codes!" Riley attempted to argue.

"You could teach me."

"It took me _years _to learn this stuff, and you really think you could learn it in a few hours?" Riley reasoned. "You're crazy."

"Well, do you have a better plan? It's not like a distraction will show up right then and there."

She must've forgotten about Abigail. I listened to the argument as they fought back and forth, a bit amused.

"But you don't even know how to set everything up!" Riley fired back. "Everything has to be set up exactly or it won't work!"

I sighed as the argument continued on for nearly ten minutes. Nicole eventually won, but I had no idea how we'd pull off her idea. I figured Riley would spend nearly every minute of the day teaching her everything she needed to know. I knew that Nicole had better be ready for a crash course in hacking.

_-OoOoO-_

Over 24 hours later, we were in Buckingham Palace, waiting for Ben to finish his meeting with the curator. Nicole had finished her quick courses with flying colors, according to both Nicole and Riley. Riley had even been impressed by her skill. I had no idea how she'd picked up everything so quickly, but I was sure that I would ask her about it later.

Riley and I were flipping through magazines, and Nicole was simply staring into space. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Riley give her a tiny nod. Behind the page the magazine he was reading was a tiny device. He slowly pressed a button on it, and the woman behind the desk let out a little gasp.

"Oh heavens!" She tapped the keys, trying to fix the computer. "Heavens no!"

"Yeah, those CBC X-Pro 3200's can be pretty _pesky_ when the system version doesn't match the user upgrades." Riley said with a little nod.

"You know computers?" The woman asked, and I immediately caught on to Riley's plan. I tried to hide my smile behind the magazine I was reading. The page I turned to was not the least bit shocking.

_Treasure Hunter linked to Lincoln Assassination_

I flipped the page with a sigh. I was getting tired of dealing with this.

"_Uh…_" Riley was trying to sound unsure. Nicole tried to hide her grin. "Not really." He paused. "Well, yeah, a little."

He got down next to the computer and began taking it. "Well, it's a bit of a mess, but I think we can handle it. I'm going to fix it up so you _never_ have to come down her again." He hooked up a small bow to one of the USB ports and pulled of the little antenna-like thing on it. "How's that?"

He pressed the button on the small device from before, and the screen went back to normal. The lady began to smile. "Oh, thank you!"

Jus then Ben emerged from the curator's office.

"You understand, the Resolute Desk is in Her Majesty's private wing. Not even I am allowed in there." The curator told him.

"I understand." Ben said with a nod, shaking the older man's hand. "Thank you for your time."

"Of course." The other man paused for a moment. "Nasty business about your ancestor."

"It's not true." Ben told him.

"Of course it's not." The curator shook his head and disappeared back into his office. Ben motioned to the three of us, and we all went out into the hallway.

"That was genius." I commented to Riley with a grin.

"It was nothing. I took some acting classes in high school." He shrugged

"Those might come in handy…" I murmured. He shrugged again and we met Ben out in the hallway.

"Everything set up?" He asked Riley.

"Yes sir." Riley nodded. Nicole put Riley's backpack over her shoulder.

"I got everything." She was about to start off, but Riley grabbed her arm.

"I swear, if you break anything…"

"I'll be paying for it, yeah, I know." Nicole rolled her eyes. "Now would you please let me go? We're on a tight schedule." Riley released his grip on Nicole's arm, and she started to walk away.

"Good luck!" Ben called to her. She flashed him a smile.

"You too!" She disappeared down the stairs.

Ben turned back to us. "You guys know what to do."

"I think I've got it, but how are we supposed to keep the guards from dragging _us_ away too?" I asked.

For once, Ben didn't have an answer. "I don't know, I'm sure you'll figure it out." He shrugged his shoulders and walked away. I sighed, eyeing Riley.

"Ready to put those classes to the test?"

He let out a sigh as well. "Ready as we'll ever be."

_-OoOoOoO-_

**Well, that seems like a weird place to cut it off, but I wanted the fight scene to have its own chapter.**

**You might not recognize the second part, because it's actually a deleted scene from the film. According to the director, Justin ad-libbed a lot in that scene, and it's one of my favorite deleted scenes. At least one more scene will be included.**

**A review? Please?**


	7. VII: The One Where They Fight

**Another chapter! Go ahead and read it!**

**-o0o0o0o0o0o-**

_**Kathleen**_

Riley and I were walking around with the tourists when Ben began to pull off his plan. However, there would be one unexpected appearance.

"_Abigail?"_

"Abigail?" The other three of us repeated.

"What is she doing here?" Riley asked through clenched teeth.

"_Yes, I'd like to know this myself."_ I could sense growing annoyance in Nicole's tone.

"_What are you doing here?"_

I looked up and spotted Ben and the blonde standing on the stairs talking. I couldn't hear what Abigail was saying, but I knew what she was saying anyways.

"_Well that's very nice, but it's kind of a bad time." _Ben paused while Abby spoke. _"It's a bad time."_

"_Remember the plan, Ben." _Nicole hissed. I know she only used that tone when she was extremely annoyed or angry.

"_I'm not the one who's making a scene right now."_

"_No, we want to make a scene." _Nicole reminded him.

I tightened my grip Riley's arm. "Brace yourself."

"What do y-"

"Well then FINE! IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT THEN LET'S HAVE IT OUT RIGHT NOW!"

"That." I winced.

Riley's hand flew to his ear, as Ben's shouting had been magnified by the ear piece. "Holy…"

I elbowed him to keep him from finishing the sentence.

"Let me guess?! It's the WRONG PLACE! It's the WRONG TIME! I'm WRONG AGAIN! Wrong about us! Wrong about Thomas Gates! Wrong that you'd like the Queen Anne chair!"

I covered my mouth to muffle my laughter. Being able to watch this scene in person was even more amusing, and Ben looked pretty ridiculous. I could even hear Nicole snickering in the background.

"You're wrong to assume I'd like the chair!"

"See, everybody? Listen to this! This is more interesting than that." Ben put his arm around the neck of a random tourist, who looked very perplexed and slightly frightened. Riley and I continued to watch on in amusement.

"She thinks that even when I'm right, I'm wrong!" Ben released the man and turned to Abigail. "Abigail, just because I answer a question quickly doesn't make it wrong!"

"Not if the right answer is something we can figure out together, as a couple, that's what couples do, Ben."

"_Couple?" _I could imagine the furious expression on Nicole's face. _"I beg to differ, Blondie."_

The security guard walked over to where Ben and Abby were fighting and said a few words.

"Oh, _now _look what you've done. You're brought the little _bobbies _down on us. You take the missus outside. I'm staying right here." Ben proceeded to throw his leg over the banister and slide down it.

Riley covered his eyes in embarrassment. "I don't know him." He muttered.

Ben and the guard began to fight, and then the guard dragged Ben and Abigail away while I could hear Nicole laughing at Ben's ridiculous singing.

"_That was genius, Ben. Absolute genius."_

"Wow…" I breathed. "That was really weird…"

"_You're up, guys." _Nicole whispered. I was suddenly extremely nervous.

"I know." I hissed. Everything returned to normal after a minute or two, and then it was our turn.

"Just stop." Riley commanded suddenly, and his tone was hard and angry.

"What?" I whispered.

"_It's part of his act. Play along." _Nicole said.

"I've had enough of this!" Riley yanked his arm away from mine.

"What are you talking about?" I asked loudly.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." He replied coldly.

I tried to grab his arm. "Please, can't we talk about this another time?"

"No, let's talk about this now!" He was a very convincing actor, I had to admit. I was scared for a moment. "You've been seeing someone else!"

A few people stared at us. "I have not!" I replied, my cheeks burning.

"Well that kid sure as heck isn't mine!"

I could sense that was going to become a running joke between us.

"Don't you bring the baby into this!" I shot back. "Let's just go talk about this somewhere else, OK?"

"How about the fact that you left me a few years ago, huh?"

The words struck me hard. It was almost like that nightmare I had, and I could feel real tears prickling in my eyes. "I didn't have a choice."

"But I needed you! After you left everything fell apart! You're not just supposed to walk out on me! You're my wife, damnit!"

I winced, shocked by his use of the swear word. He'd never sworn before. I opened my mouth to respond, but one of the guards approached us.

"Sir, we've had complaints. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Fine." He said, and then turned back to me. "But you had better bet that when you get back to the hotel, I'll have a few things to say to you." He turned, stumbling as he pushed his way through the crowd and out the entrance of the palace.

"Are you alright, miss?" The guard asked. "Should I call someone? The police or something?"

"No, I'll be alright." I took a deep breath. "He's just had a few…problems lately."

"Excuse me." A woman from the crowd interrupted. She began digging around in her purse for something, and pulled out a small card. "I'm Amy Foster, I live in Boston." She greeted me. "You're from the US, right?"

I nodded slowly.

"Well, my ex-husband had a few problems like your husband did, and I've got a few numbers you can call if the two of you ever have any problems. There's a number on there so you could set up a meeting for him to go to, and if you ever have any problems you can call me as well." She smiled warmly. I slowly took the card, my cheeks burning.

"Thank you, Miss Foster, but I really must be going, I need to…"

Suddenly the fire alarms began blaring, and everyone looked around, and began heading towards the exit in a frenzy.

I waited, catching a glimpse of Ben, Abigail, and Nicole coming towards me. I walked over to where they were.

"I heard part of that argument. That was pretty good." Ben commented. "But what was eh saying about a baby?"

"Never mind that, we need to get out of here." I said hurriedly as we headed towards the exit and out of the palace. We walked towards the street and Ben handed me the plank.

"Wow…." I paused, looking up. "Where's Riley?" I looked towards where I knew the Wilkinson brothers would be standing, and my blood ran cold. Mitch stood there, but he wasn't alone. He had tight grip on Riley, and had a gun pressed to Riley's temple.

**-o0o0o0o0o-**

**GASP! A cliffhanger! And he's got a gun! Oh darn, this might end badly, might not. You'll have to come back next time to find out! –dramatic music plays-**

**Well, in all seriousness, will you review?**


	8. VII: Chased through London

**As mentioned before, I accidently forgot this chapter! Once again, I am at fault. My bad. (-smiles nervously-)**

**IT'S TIME FOR A CAR CHASE!**

**-OoOoOoO-**

"Wilkinson." Nicole and Ben spoke simultaneously, their voices flat.

"Hello, Mr. Gates." Mitch greeted. I could see a scared look in Riley's eyes, and I regretted letting him walk out of the palace.

"I'm sorry." I mouthed, and Riley shook his head, apparently trying to say it wasn't my fault. My eyes were stinging a bit when I looked at him.

Then Mitch's brothers appeared behind the four of us, also holding guns in their hands. We all held up our hands slowly, and I tightened my grip on the plank.

"Give me that plank," Mitch nodded his head at the plank in my hand, speaking calmly. "And no one will get hurt, alright?"

I realized that Mitch must have persuaded Riley to explain why we were in London. I looked at Ben, and he nodded slowly. I turned around, lowering my hands and handing the plank to Daniel with a sigh.

He looked at it, pleased, and moved to hand it over to Mitch. Acting quickly, I hit his hand, causing the plank to fly upward. He looked up at the plank, and Ben elbowed him hard in the stomach, causing him to double over. Riley seemed to get the plan, and shoved Mitch hard, knocking him backwards. The older man regained his balance and held out the gun, ready to shoot, but Nicole kicked it from his hand.

Abigail and Seth were both looking up at the plank as well. Ben punched Seth hard in the jaw, and Abigail caught the wooden object. We all ran towards the rental car.

"I'll drive!" Riley quickly opened the left door, and grabbed air where the steering wheel should have been. Ben slid into the driver's seat, and Nicole, Abby, and I all dashed into the backseat.

"Get down!" Ben shouted as one of the brothers lifted his gun to shoot. The shot broke the back windshield, showering all five of us with little pieces of glass and peppering the back of the car with bullet holes.

"You guys OK back there?" I could see Ben's eyes meet Nicole's in the rearview mirror.

"We're good. You OK?"

"Fine." Ben replied with a small smile.

Riley brushed the shard of glass from his hair. "I'm kind of chilly. Thanks for asking." He replied sarcastically. We sped down the street in the car, dodging the other cars on the street. It seemed almost like a video game.

"Turn, turn, turn!" Riley cried, and we took a sharp right, crashing into the side of a bus.

"Everybody OK?" Ben asked, but I was too shaken respond, and apparently so was everyone else.

"Can't you go faster?!" Abigail screamed hysterically.

"Maybe if we had one less passenger!" Nicole fired back in a sing-song voice.

"They're gaining on us!" I shouted, and I was right; the black Range Rover and the taxi were catching up fast. We ended up behind a large truck full of beer barrels.

"Come on, come on…" Ben sounded understandably impatient. I looked behind us to see Daniel leaning out of the side of the Range Rover to shoot us again.

"Look out!" Ben shouted as he began shooting. Nicole, Abby and I all let out little screams as more bullets hit the back of the car. I was beginning to wonder where the cops were by this point.

A few bullets hit the beer truck in front of us, and barrels began falling out, some of them spilling all over the street. The car swerved dangerously, trying not to get hit. Barrels began exploding, and the alcohol rained down on the car, covering the windshield. One barrel flew, knocking the head off of a statue. I realized that I had white knuckled grip on the door handle, my heart pounding loudly in my ears.

I saw the taxi behind us flip onto its side as we continued. We passed the truck, and Ben spun the car around 180 degrees in front of it, then shifted gears.

"Go, go, go, go, go!" Riley shouted quickly, and we sped off down another street. As we drove, a ring filled the car.

"What is that?" Riley asked.

"It's Abby's phone." I answered.

"It's him." Abby replied with a roll of her eyes.

"You have his number on her speed dial?" Riley asked incredulously. Abigail shushed him, handing Ben the phone.

"Mitch, this has got to end before someone gets hurt." He said when he answered. I couldn't hear Mitch's reply, but I knew what it was anyways. "Tell that to my father." Ben said bitterly, hanging up the phone while Riley looked at him, confused.

We turned onto a side street full of people, and one guy hit out car as Ben began honking the horn.

"What are all these people doing in the street?" Nicole asked. The people suddenly started running.

"Why is everyone running?" Riley wondered aloud. Abby and I turned to see Seth driving right towards us.

"He's right there, go!" Abby shrieked. We sped up a little bit.

"Did I just run over a man's foot?" Ben asked, sounding concerned.

"Why are we always getting chased?!" I cried, half in fear and half in frustration.

"Watch the people!" Abby commanded.

We crossed a street and pulled into another lane, going even faster now. We turned yet again, getting onto a main road, the black Range Rover following us once more.

"They're still behind us." Abigail pointed out.

"We noticed!" Nicole snapped.

"Does this phone have a camera in it?" Ben asked, holding up Abby's cell.

"No, it's broken."

Ben's shoulders slumped and he threw it back at her. "Hang on, we're gonna run a red light."

"Are you crazy?" Nicole shrieked. I screwed my eyes shut as we blew past the red light, nearly running several people over in the process.

"Hack into the London Police database and get a copy of the picture from that traffic cam." Ben ordered Riley, who looked rather annoyed.

"Okie dokie."

"It wouldn't kill you to say please, would it?" I asked, also annoyed with Ben.

"Can't do it?" Ben asked, his eyes glued to the road.

"No, I can do it." Riley mumbled. "I just don't like that you _assume_ I can do it."

"Why thank you, Riley." Abigail replied, tapping Ben's arm. He made a strange face in the rearview mirror.

We drove onto a bridge, with the Wilkinsons ending up directly beside us. Ben held out the plank, as if to give it to them, but threw it over the top of the car instead, causing it to land in the Thames. Ben swerved past a construction site and drove off. We continued for a few blocks before pulling over and parking the car.

"Is everyone OK?" He asked, taking a deep breath.

"I think so." I called. "I, for one, am a bit shaken, but I believe I'm not physically harmed."

The five of us quickly got out of the car. Nicole threw her arms around Ben's neck, kissing him passionately while Abigail looked on in mixed shock, confusion, and… could that have been jealousy? Riley stared at the two of them in confusion as well.

"Seriously, did I miss something? When the heck did the two of you hook up?"

"A few days ago." Nicole answered with a shrug, kissing Ben's cheek. "It just sort of… happened.

I put my arms around Riley's neck, looking up into his blue eyes.

"You sure you're OK?" I asked him. He nodded, kissing my forehead.

"You know I didn't mean any of the stuff I said back there, right?" He looked a bit worried.

"Yeah, why?"

"I don't know. You just seemed a little freaked out is all." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Can we go get some lunch?" I asked. "I'm hungry."

"Well you're eating for two, right?" He replied with a smirk. I smacked his arm, rolling my eyes.

"Lunch sounds like a good idea." Ben commented. "But right after that we're catching the next flight home. We need to translate that plank." He sighed. "There's a lot riding on that little piece of wood."

**-OoOoOoO-**

**That was actually rather difficult to write. I had to watch that scene again and again to get everything down…**

**Review, please?**


	9. IX: A Different Kind of Treasure

**EDIT: I forgot to upload Chapter 8! . I apologize for any confusion I may have caused! Thanks to A Catholic Girl for pointing out my mistake!**

**Well, this is probably going to be my last update until next Friday or Saturday. You see, I'm going off to camp on Sunday, and won't be back until the 11****th****. I assure you an update will be worked on, and I should be able to get it up at the end of the week.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! Go read it! **

_**-OoOoOoO-**_

The very next day, we were already back in Washington, and we had just arrived at Patrick's house. We made our way up the long sidewalk, and it seemed awfully familiar.

"Abigail!" Patrick hugged the blonde woman, who greeted him back. "Good to see you two together again." I could've sworn I heard Nicole hissing something to herself angrily.

"We're not." Ben said shortly, and that was the end of it. Riley attempted to pull his many suitcases up the stairs, but spilled them everywhere. I laughed, picking one of them up.

"What is all this stuff, honey?"

"You have to be prepared for everything when you're treasure-hunting." He responded, pulling the rest of his suitcases inside. We toted our things up the stairs to the room Riley and I would share and set everything up. Riley grabbed his laptop and headed downstairs to show the photo to Patrick.

We sat together at the dining room table, huddled around the computer.

"I can't read the whole, but I can tell you that these are definitely pre-colonial Native American markings…" Patrick told us.

"Easily 500 years old." Ben said quietly.

"What I'm wondering is how the Queen of England got a hold of this." Nicole sighed.

"I can identify…" Patrick interrupted. "One symbol…" He pointed at the screen, zooming in on a part of the plank. "Do you know what that is?"

"It looks like some sort of temple…" I mused.

"This symbol means Cibola."

Ben exhaled sharply, closing his eyes. "The City of Gold…" He murmured to himself. "The City of Gold…"

"The City of Gold?" Nicole repeated. Ben didn't responded, but walked into the living room. He looked as if he were in a trance. The rest of us glanced at each other, following him. He looked at the title of the fireplace mantle, picking up a book. We seated ourselves in the living room, listening as he began speaking.

"1527, a Spanish ship wrecked off the Florida coast." He started, his voice soft and entrancing. "There were only four survivors. One was a slave named Esteban, who saved a local tribe's dying chief. As a reward, he was taken to their sacred city, a city built of solid gold."

Everyone looked hypnotized as he continued, especially Nicole. A small smile was forming on her lips as she listened.

"Later, when Esteban tried to find the city again, he never could. But the legend grew, and every explorer came to the new world in search of it. When General Custer's search for gold ended with his last stand at Little Big Horn, it became clear; none would ever find it."

He snapped the book shut and replaced it on the shelf.

"Can you imagine if the Confederates had found the City of Gold?" Nicole breathed. "They'd have completely destroyed the Union."

"Which is why Thomas burned the pages." Patrick pointed out. He stood from his chair, and began to walk away.

"I'm going to go talk to her." Ben said softly.

Patrick froze in his tracks.

"You're coming with me."

"No!" Patrick walked around to where Ben stood.

"Hey, no one else can translate it." The younger Gates reasoned.

"There are others. There are several others!" Patrick argued. I looked on, curious, as the argument began.

"For ancient Native American? There's no one better."

"Who?" Riley asked, sounding rather confused. Abigail shook her head, holding up a hand in Riley's face as if to say "I'm not telling."

"Look, Ben, I can't go with you." Patrick said. "It's been what? 25 years?"

"32." Ben replied, sounding rather bitter.

"That long?" Patrick sounded surprised. "There's a reason we haven't spoken in 32 years!"

"Guys!" Nicole interrupted, standing between the 2 men. "You don't need to fight about this. We need to figure out what's on that plank before Wilkinson does. I say Emily's our only shot."

Patrick sighed, shrugging his shoulders, while Ben looked thankful.

"What is she talking about?" Riley asked.

"Ben's mother." I smirked to myself. I could tell from the look on Patrick's face that he thought nothing good would come from a meeting Dr. Emily Appleton. "Looks like we're paying a visit to the University of Maryland."

_**-OoOoO-**_

"Will you relax? Everything's going to be fine." Ben attempted to calm his father, who had become rather tense ever since we had arrived on the campus.

"Maybe you're right." Patrick shrugged. "It's been a long time. Maybe she lost her memory and she won't recognize me."

"That's the spirit!" Nicole replied with a hint of sarcasm in her tone. She walked up to the door to knock when it flew open to reveal an angry-looking college girl.

"I HATE her!" The girl stormed away in a huff.

"We're in the right place." Patrick smiled weakly.

I noticed Riley staring at the girl as she made her way through our little crowd, and I nudged him.

"It's not polite to stare." I reminded him. His face went slightly pink and he backed away.

"I think I'm just going to take myself out of the line of fire for this one guys…" He smiled nervously, lowering himself into a chair in the hall. I shrugged, following everyone else into Emily's office.

"Benjamin!" I heard Emily's voice on the other side of the room. "Abigail! What a surprise! Hello, sweetheart!" Her eyes fell on Nicole and me, and she smiled warmly. "You must be Kathleen and Nicole! I've heard so much about you!" She embraced the both of us, and I smiled, looking over her shoulder at Ben, who smiled and shrugged.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Dr. Appleton." I greeted.

"Oh, please, call me Emily." Then she looked behind us, catching sight of Patrick, and her smile disappeared. "Oh."

"See? One syllable, a knife in the heart!" Patrick motioned with his hands as he spoke.

"Oh no." Ben forced a smile.

"She can do that."

"I can locate the whereabouts of my toothbrush." Emily whirled on Patrick. I was surprised at how quickly a 32-year-old argument could be picked up in a matter of seconds.

"I was not the one who left the toothbrushes in Marrakech! I stowed them in the travel case as instructed!"

I sighed to myself, slipping out of the office, unnoticed by anyone. I sat down in a chair next to Riley, who looked rather distracted.

"What's the matter?" I touched his arm gently, and he jumped slightly.

"Hmm?"

"What's the matter?" I repeated.

"Oh, it's nothing." He lied. I sighed.

"You're lying. You won't look me in the eye. Something's bothering you."

He bit his lips. "I just… I don't know if I want to do this anymore."

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"I'm just getting tired of this. I mean, I'm constantly putting my life on the line, and there's chance we won't even win this thing. We'll either come back with the treasure, come back empty handed, or not come back at all. After what happened last time..." He paused, taking a deep breath and screwing his eyes shut. "I don't that to happen again. I don't want to have to put _you _through that again. The end doesn't justify the means for me anymore."

"Riley…" I started, stroking his hair. "What happened last time..." I swallowed hard. "It was my fault."

"How can you even say that?" He asked softly, looking surprised.

"It's true! If I'd kept my damn mouth shut, that never would've happened. Afterwards, I felt so guilty… I had nightmares…" I could feel hot tears forming behind my eyelids. "God, if anything happened this time I could never forgive myself."

"If anything happened to me it wouldn't be your fault." He whispered. "But what about you? If anything were to happen to you, I'd be totally responsible for it."

"No, don't…"

"Ever since you came back I swore to God that I would protect you, and I'm keeping that promise. You're more important to me than any treasure we'll ever find. "

I looked up, totally surprised. "You mean that?"

"Of course. Ben can have this treasure, I don't care. You're my treasure, and that's all that matters to me."

I could see a sincerity in his eyes that I'd never seen before. I slowly kissed him, taking in every part of the moment. It was one of those things you always remember. I pulled away, smiling at him, feeling almost feather-light. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, taking in his scent.

"I love you." I whispered.

He didn't reply, and he didn't have to. The words he'd spoken before were enough.

A minute later, the door to Emily's office opened, and Ben was the first to emerge, looking rather sour. Nicole, Patrick, and Abigail followed. Riley sighed, taking my hand and following the rest of the group.

"At least we know where the rest of the map is." Ben said as we stepped outside.

"What? You know where it is? Why didn't you tell me?" Patrick asked, sounding surprised.

"Because…" Ben began, whirling you around. "You obviously have a tendency to OVERREACT!"

I winced slightly at Ben's sharp, angry tone. Nicole put a hand on his arm, trying to relax him.

"I'm sorry." Patrick said, looking rather sheepish. Ben took a deep breath.

"So am I."

"So where is it?" Nicole asked.

"We think the map may have been divided between the two Resolute desks."

"The Resolute desk?" Patrick raised his eyebrows. "THE Resolute desk? The President's desk?"

"The President?" Riley looked just as surprised. "Which President? _Our _President?"

I squeezed his hand softly. "Unfortunately, yes."

"But that means… So we have to…?" He let out an exasperated sigh. "The White House?"

"The Oval office…" Ben corrected. "…To be exact."

_**-OoOoOoO-**_

**Aw, that was sweet. I seriously almost cried. I'm a sucker for this romance stuff… :P**

**A review for my last update before camp?**


	10. X: Making Dates and Having Nightmares

**-looks slightly ashamed- **

**I apologize for the delay, considering this chapter should have been here…. about 2 weeks ago? I had a lot of writer's block, but I got everything sorted out. I hope this chapter was worth the long wait… **

**Here's chapter 9!**

**If of the NT characters or plots belonged to me, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction. I'd be figuring what to do for movie 3. And I would actually know what was supposed to be on Page 47…**

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

"The Resolute Desk is near the south wall of the Oval Office." Patrick set down a book on the table in front of us, and I peered at the photograph on John Kennedy and his son curiously.

"That little door on the front…" Ben mused.

"FDR had that put in so guests couldn't see his wheelchair." Patrick seated himself at the table.

"Well, what if it's like the Queen's desk?" Nicole suggested. "The drawers?"

"That's a possibility." Ben shrugged. I watched Riley scroll through the White House page, and his face suddenly lit up.

"Guys." He pointed at the screen, a smile forming on his lips. "Take a look at this."

"The Easter Egg Roll…" I read aloud. "That could work…"

"Why Abigail, I believe it's time for you to make a date with your new boyfriend…" Ben replied with a smirk.

"I think you're right." The blonde agreed. I could see Nicole and Ben look at each other from across the table, and a smile spread across Nicole's face. I knew that Ben would have his own date to the Easter Egg Roll this time.

**-OoOoO-**

The water rushed in through the doorway, and it was already waist deep. I trudged through it, which proved rather difficult. All I could see was his face. I got as close to him as I could, my eyes meeting his. "You don't have to do this!" I cried.

He just shook his head. "I'm doing this for you! I'm trying to protect you, Kathleen!"

"No!" I could feel a fire burning in my chest. "Don't worry about me! Just go!" He simply shook his head.

"No. I'm staying!" He shouted stubbornly.

"But you don't have to!" Tears of frustration welled in my eyes. Why was he always trying to protect me?

A sudden strong blast from the rushing current knocked me backwards. I looked up one time at his face, and he looked sad. I could see him mouthing something, and though I couldn't hear the words, I knew exactly what he'd said.

'I love you.'

The door opened, and I was sucked under with everyone else. I heard it shut with a loud crashing thud. Everyone was on our side, except Mitch. I felt a small hope burning. Maybe he would save him, like he had before with Ben. The door opened again and someone was washed under. I watched the person resurface, and I stumbled back when I realized it was Mitch. I continued to back up, reeling in horror as I looked at Mitch lying on the hard floor of the caverns. If Mitch was on our side, that would mean that he…

My eyes burned with unshed tears, my soaked clothing sticking to my body. I pounded on the door with all my might, praying for some sort of miracle.

"Kathleen!" Nicole grabbed my arm. "There's no way to get him out of there."

I fell to my knees, sobbing. "He can't die! He promised! He promised me he wouldn't…"

**-OoO-**

I suddenly sat up in the bed, my entire body shaking. I looked around the room, and saw another body lying beside me. I tried to catch my breath, and Riley stirred beside me, groggily opening his eyes.

"Kathleen?" He whispered hoarsely, slowly sitting up. "What's the matter?"

"I had a nightmare." I laid back down in bed, defiantly staring in the opposite direction.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No!" My reply sounded a bit harsher than I had meant for it to sound.

"Kathleen." There was a hint of warning in his voice. "Don't take that up with me. Just tell me what's bothering you."

"Don't worry about it." I sighed. "It's… It's nothing."

"Kate." Now he was using my nickname, trying to calm me down. "If it upsets you that much, I think I have a right to know, don't I?"

I sighed again, and turned to face him. "You drowned." I swallowed. "You drowned trying to save me. I tried to change your mind, but you wouldn't listen and…You died."

"Oh."

There were a few moments of silence, and I found myself hoping he'd fallen asleep. But he turned to look at me.

"So you keep having these nightmares?"

"Yes."

"Well, do you know why?"

"I…" I suddenly became frustrated, and sat up. "Last time I was here you nearly died! And I was _scared_, OK? Little Kathleen got _scared_ because she had to open her mouth, and a person she really really loved and cared about nearly died because of it, and she was scared to death that he would die and it would be _her_ fault."

He stared at me for a moment, speechless. I got up out of the bed, starting to pace around the room as I kept talking, everything spilling from my tongue.

"And I felt guilty after that, and for some reason I just couldn't shake that feeling. For nearly a week you were teetering on the edge and I had to live with knowing that it was _my _fault."

Riley opened his mouth to speak, but I stopped him.

"And don't even tell me that it wasn't my fault because you'd be lying! And if you had died I would have…" My voice trailed off and I sat down on the edge of the bed, my eyes filling with tears. He sat up next to me.

"Kathleen…Kathleen, look at me."

I looked up into his eyes, and I seemed to be pinned down by his gaze.

"Nothing's going to happen to me. I promise you right now that nothing in the world would keep me from getting to the end of this thing. I'm not going to die."

"You're sure?" I felt like a small child being promised something. He gave me a small smile, putting his hand on my cheek.

"Of course."

I leaned forward, giving him a gentle kiss on the lips. "Thanks." I got back under the covers and fell into a peaceful sleep, my head resting on his chest as his arms held me close and didn't let go.

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

**Ah, Kathleen and her nightmares. It looks everything may be resolved now, though. **

**Please review! What did you think? **


	11. XI: The President's Book?

**I'm sooo sorry you guys! I know it's been ages since I updated, but it seems whenever I go away I get a terrible case of writer's block. –sigh- **

**Well here's an update. It's not a very big one, but hopefully the next few chapters will be a tad longer than that. **

**Here you go, Chapter 11! Enjoy! **

**-OoOoOoOoOoO-**

"I'm coming with you!"

"No, you aren't, Nicole!"

"But, Ben, I want to come with you! I don't think you should have to end up _alone _with Abigail and Connor."

"So I'm not allowed to be alone with Abigail?"

"I did not say that!"

"Well it sounded like you meant it!"

I sighed, listening to the argument unfold in Patrick's kitchen. I could tell Ben and Nicole were equally matched in stubbornness, which didn't seem to be helping them at all. "Does Ben always fight with girls?"

Riley looked up from his laptop, shrugging. "Only if they're as stubborn as he is, which most of his girlfriends tend to be. Just don't tell either of them that I said that, or they'd probably hurt me or something. "

I laughed. "Especially if it was Nicole…" I paused, thinking for a moment. "I'm glad we don't fight like that though. I can't stand arguments."

"Well, we really don't have anything to fight about, do we?"

I shook my head. Nicole suddenly walked into the room, plopping down on one of the chairs in a huff. "That man is so..."

"Stubborn?" I finished for her, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah! I mean, he won't even let me come to the Easter Egg Roll or anything."

"Well, he's probably got a good reason for not letting you go." I attempted to reason with her.

"Like what?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, what if something went wrong? He wouldn't want to put you in a bad situation, right Riley?"

"Huh?" Riley looked up. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

I rolled my eyes, while Nicole shifted her chair a bit. "I guess you're right." She sighed. "I just wish he wasn't so stubborn."

"Welcome to my world." Abigail announced, walking through the living room. "Can you guys meet us there in 20 minutes or so?"

We all nodded, and Abigail headed towards the front door. We heard the door open, then click shut behind the pair that had just left. Nicole scowled slightly.

"I never did like her." She muttered to herself, standing from her chair. "I'll be up in my room."

"Alright." I turned around, looking at the bookshelf behind me. I picked up a familiar title, flipping to where I left off.

Riley looked up at me, curious. "What're you reading?"

"Hmm…" I flipped over the book, looking at the cover. "It's a book of conspiracy theories by this one guy… Riley Poole, I think his name is…" I grinned up at him. He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Nope, never heard of him." He rolled his eyes. "At least someone is reading it. What chapter are you on?"

"Chapter 13…" I tried to hide my nervous smile. "I've got to say that's my favorite chapter."

"The President's Book." He said proudly. "Yeah, that was probably one of my favorites too."

"Well it's really good." I smiled. "You have a talent for writing this sort of stuff, you know."

"I do?" He blinked. "It's not like you could tell by the number of people actually buying the book. Or reading it for that matter." He looked rather down-trodden as he spoke.

"Aw, you poor thing." I gently placed a hand on his arm. "I can assure you that your book sales will probably jump by the time this whole ordeal is over with."

"You think so?" He asked. I nodded. Patrick walked into the room.

"We should probably be off then." He declared. We nodded, and Riley snapped his laptop shut.

"I'll get Nicole." I announced, heading up the stairs. I knocked on the closed door.

"I'm not coming!" Her voice sounded muffled through the door.

"Why not?"

"I'm just not coming!" She shouted, a bit more forcefully.

"O-Kay." I rolled my eyes, meeting Riley and Patrick at the bottom of the stairs. "To the White House, then."

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

About 15 minutes later, Ben and Abigail were approaching the van. Ben twisted the camera in his hands absent mindedly, and Abigail still appeared flushed.

"It was empty." Abigail said. "Someone must've taken it."

I saw Riley's shoulder slump and I let out a quiet sigh.

"Brightest men in our country sat at that desk for over a hundred years. Of course one of them found the map." Patrick reasoned. I nodded.

"Look." Ben brought up the picture on his camera. "There was a symbol stamped into the wood."

"The presidential seal?" Patrick guessed. Riley peered over Ben's shoulder for a minute, then turned away.

"No, it's holding a…scroll…" I trailed off, looking at Riley, who stared back at me. '_The President's Book.'_ I mouthed. He nodded, looking a bit upset.

"I'm not sure what this is…" Ben commented.

"Did none of you read my book?" Riley could hardly contain the hurt in his voice. "The eagle… clutching the scroll."

"You know what it means?" Ben asked, sounding rather surprised. Riley nodded slowly.

"Yeah. But it's not something I can tell you." He gave Ben a strange smile. "It's something I have to show you. In my book."

I saw Ben heading towards the back of the van, but I quickly offered him my copy, glancing at Riley. I wanted to save him a _little_ bit of pain at least.

"Chapter 13." Riley dictated.

Ben flipped to the page, nearly scoffing as he read the title aloud. "The President's Secret Book?"

"The President's Secret Book." Riley repeated. "It's a collection of documents for Presidents, by Presidents, and for Presidents' eyes_ only_. I'm not just talking JFK here. The 18 and a half missing minutes from the _Watergate_ tapes. Did the Apollo really land on the moon? Did it?" He looked at me, and I nodded slightly. "And the _coup de grace…_Area 51." He motioned with his hands, finishing his speech.

Ben stared down at Riley's book wordlessly, and Abby let out a little laugh. "Come on, Riley, it's an urban legend."

"Is it, Abigail?" He walked over to her, looking her in the eye. "Is it?" He raised his eyebrows at her in the most adorable way, and I couldn't help but grin at him.

"But this is so…" Abigail seemed to be looking for the right word.

"Crazy?" Riley finished with a hint of a smile.

"Yeah!"

"Hmm…" He looked as if he were thinking. "Last time I checked, we pretty much make our living on crazy."

"It's true." I shrugged. "He's got a point."

"I guess so." Abigail relented.

"Same symbol." Patrick pointed to a picture on the page.

Riley sighed again. "It was released in '66 under the Freedom of Information Act. The eagle and the scroll. The secret symbol in the President's Book."

"So the other half of the plank is in the President's Book?" I asked. Riley nodded.

"Yeah." He looked at Ben, the sadness returning to his eyes. "Ben, if it was you trying to convince me… You'd have less evidence and I would already believe you by now."

I looked at the pair, practically tearing up right there. So this was what made Ben and Riley so great together… Riley placed all of his trust in Ben, never doubting him. Ben leaned against the van, tapping a finger against his chin thoughtfully. I silently walked over to where Riley was standing, lacing my fingers with his as I offered him a tiny smile.

Ben cleared his throat. "I'm going to talk to Sadusky about this."

The look of hurt that formed in those beautiful blue eyes was heart-breaking.

**-OoOoOoOoOoO-**

**Probably one of my favorite moments from either movies. Ben and Riley are just so... indescribable! I love them to pieces! And this is just one of those defining moments for their friendship. I really loved it...**

**Well, I feel like I owe you all a longer chapter because of how long I made you wait for this.**

**Did you like it, though? Please review! I'd love to know what you thought!**


	12. XII: Kidnappers and Lovers

**I have new actresses and photos picked for Nicole and Kathleen (and Lyssie from Stuck as well.) Nicole is now Amber Tamblyn (at my friend's request) and Kathleen is Ashley Greene. Pics are in my profile.**

**There's also going to be a little spin-off of sorts, basically out-takes/spoofs of the Nicole and Kathleen series. Thanks to Kirsten for giving me the idea! –ecookie-**

**I'm sorry for the prolonged update, guys! I was trying to flesh out this chapter as much as possible. I hope it was worth the wait, and I will try my hardest to get Chapter 13 out quickly! Thanks you all for being so patient!**

**Much love!!**

**-AP**

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

A few hours later, after Ben had returned, everyone had gathered in Patrick's study, trying to come up with our next move. I sat on the arm of Riley's chair, and Nicole sat on the couch, though she was keeping her distance from Abigail.

"All I need…" Ben sighed. "…is a few minutes with him."

"A few minutes, really? Ben, even if you were married to the President, you wouldn't be able to get a few minutes." Riley spoke up, his laptop sitting in front of him like always.

"Ben being married to the President?" Nicole laughed. "That would be weird, not to mention gay…" I shot her a silencing look and she cleared her throat, sinking into the couch cushions slightly.

"Not when he's surrounded by his handlers, but if I can get him alone…"

"Ben, there's no way you could get the President of the United States alone!" I argued. "How do you expect to pull that off?"

"Before the Civil War, the states were all separate. People used to say 'the United States are'. It wasn't until after the war ended that they started to say 'the United States is'. Under Lincoln, we became one nation."

"And Lincoln died for that." I added seriously.

"So did Thomas Gates." Ben sat back in his chair, as if bracing himself for what he was about to say. "So how am I going to get the President alone?" He let question hang in the air, as if expecting someone to answer. "I'm going to kidnap him. I'm-"

"Benjamin Gates, don't you even _dare_ say it!" Nicole cut him off.

"I'm going to kidnap the President." He said firmly, giving her a steely look. Riley and I seemed to be wearing the same expression. We looked from each other to Ben, blinking. Everyone seemed to just get what he had said.

"I'm your father, how am I supposed to respond to this?" It looked like Patrick would be fuming by now. "I can't let you ruin your life!"

"Are you out of your mind?"

"This is crazy, Ben, you can't…"

"All you had to do was read my book…"

After a few more seconds of arguing, Patrick spoke up again. "How do you plan on doing this?"

"I was thinking Mt. Vernon." Ben explained calmly.

"Ooh." Patrick took a deep breath.

"What?" Nicole and Abigail spoke in unison.

Riley shrugged. "I'm in."

**-OoOoOoO-**

"Yeah, I know it's short notice, but the pipe burst in the hotel we'd previously booked…"

I leaned on desk, propping my head up on my arm as I listened to Riley speaking on the phone. He held the phone in one hand and half of a sandwich in the other, waving it while he spoke.

"I… There is water _everywhere_…" He paused for a few seconds, setting his sandwich down as he swung his legs onto the floor "Oh, wow, you are a lifesaver! Thank you so much!" He said a few more things to the person. Meanwhile, I picked up his sandwich, taking a bite.

"That…" He looked at the checklist Ben had given him, checking off 'The Denbe Hotel'. He then looked up and saw me eating his sandwich. "…was mine!"

I made a face and set it down. "Well you can have it back. I hate mayo!"

"No, I don't want it; your cooties are all over it!"

"Well you're not afraid to kiss me. Wouldn't _that_ give you cooties?"

"No, this is a different kind." He insisted, making a face. I rolled my eyes at him.

"You're such a dork."

"But I'm _your_ dork, right?"

"Of course." I responded with a smile. Then I paused. "Not to sound pushy or anything, but you haven't kissed me since our make-out session in Abigail's closet."

He smirked at me. "We should fix that." He leaned in, pressing his lip on mine, and I could feel him laughing for some unknown reason. I pulled him a little closer to me, kissing him a bit more heatedly.

Then a voice spoke from across the room. "Hey, did you…." The kiss was abruptly broken off, and we looked up at Ben, both of us with flushed cheeks. "Am I interrupting?" There was a note of… annoyance, perhaps, in his voice?

"No, not at all." There was a slight tone of sarcasm in Riley's voice that made me giggle.

"Oh, well, I just wanted to know if you got a hold of the Denbe."

Riley nodded slowly, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, I gave them a call, they're all booked up. We got everything."

"OK…" Ben nodded, and there were a few seconds of silence. "Well, you two… have… fun, then." He walked out of the room, and I couldn't help but laugh

"Leave it to Ben to walk in on something like that." I shook my head slightly. "He almost acts like my dad sometimes. Which makes the whole 'dating my best friend' thing kind of creepy."

"Well, at least he's not dating you." Riley pointed out with a little shrug.

"Well of course not!" I rolled my eyes. "Because then you wouldn't be able to date me!"

He gasped over-dramatically. "That would be terrible!!"

I rolled my eyes again. "You're _still_ a dork."

"Still _your_ dork."

I laughed. "May I request something from my dork?"

"Of course."

"Will you kiss me?"

"It would be my pleasure."

**-OoOoOoO-**

The day of the President's party arrived sooner than we had imagined it would, though we found ways to keep ourselves occupied during the whole 2 days of waiting. It was never boring, especially when Riley was around.

"I don't look like that!" I protested with a laugh. We had spent the evening sketching each other, simply because we were bored. He had revealed his portrait and it didn't honestly look much like me. "But thank you for trying."

"Let me see yours."

I flipped over the clipboard, showing him the carefully drawn portrait.

"Hmm, not bad," He said with a smile.

"I drew a sandwich!" Nicole announced, holding up her finished artwork.

"Leonardo da Vinci himself couldn't have drawn it better." Riley said with a grin. Then Ben stepped into the living room wearing his tuxedo. Nicole let out a quiet whistle.

"Wow, looking good, Ben." I told him. "Maybe you could wear that to a party you were actually _invited _to someday."

He scowled at me, but shrugged. "I guess you've got a good point."

"Good luck." Riley told him.

"Thanks, I'm going to need it," Ben replied, heading for the door. "I'll call you guys, OK?"

"OK."

We heard the front door slam shut, announcing that Ben and Patrick had left. Abigail was up in her room, doing whatever, and a strange silence descended over the house.

Nicole bounced to her feet. "I'm going to the kitchen. You guys want anything?"

"We're fine." Riley shrugged. She left the room, and Riley and I sat there, staring at each other.

"Sooo…" I looked around the living room. "Why is this so…" I trailed off, really having no word to fit in the sentence. There was another brief silence.

"What do you want to do?" Riley offered.

"I… don't know." I fidgeted absent-mindedly. I laid down slowly, resting my head in Riley's lap. "I wish…"

"You wish what?"

"I wish I didn't have to leave so soon." I spoke softly. "I've only got a few more days left here."

"I know." His voice had a soft, soothing quality to it, even though the sentence was so short. He ran his fingers through my hair over and over, and I would shiver when his fingers brushed the top of my head.

"It's not fair."

"Well life's not always fair, is it?"

"No." I frowned to myself. "It's not." I looked up into his crystal blue eyes, and for a brief, beautiful moment, there was nothing else in the world, as cheesy as that might sound. I sat back up, pressing my lips softly on his. He pulled us both to our feet, and my arms moved upward, wrapping around his neck. We stayed like that for about a minute, then he pulled away from me, kissing my neck instead.

I gasped in surprise. "Not…Fair…" I breathed. "You know I… I…"

"You melt when I do that?" He finished with a smile.

"Uh-huh."

He backed me into the wall, pinning my wrists against it, as he pressed his mouth on mine.

"Upstairs?" He whispered between open mouthed kisses. I nodded slightly, and he scooped me up, carrying me up the stairs and into the room we shared. He set me down on the bed and sat down next to me, his lips never leaving mine somehow. It felt so good to be kissing him, and I was totally lost in the moment. I somehow managed to remove his shirt from over his head, and mine disappeared as well. He moved to kissing my neck again, and the shock of his warm hands resting on my waist must've snapped me back to reality.

"Riley, wait." I managed to speak at least. "Let's slow down…"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to rush…" He looked so adorable while his cheeks turned red and he babbled on.

"It's alright, don't worry. Let's just…talk."

And so we laid there on the bed, just talking about what ever popped onto our heads. I rested my head on shoulder, tracing random patterns on his chest out of boredom. He seemed a bit skinnier than he had been before, and it worried me a little. It was then that I noticed the small scar just below his ribs, and I winced when I looked at it.

"What's the matter?"

I bit my lip, looking anywhere and everywhere except his chest.

"Kathleen." His voice was softer again, and it made me uncomfortable. "Look at me."

I turned to look him in the face, and those beautiful eyes that made me melt stared back.

"I'm fine." He kissed the top of my head, then gave me a chaste kiss on the mouth and slid off the bed, pulling his T-shirt back on over his head.

"Does it ever hurt?" I asked. He stopped where he was.

"Yeah, whenever Nicole's around I get this feeling Harry Potter does when he sees Voldemort."

_Leave it to Riley to cover with a sarcastic remark like that._

"I'm being serious."

He let out a sigh of frustration and turned around. "Kathleen, I don't see why you feel guilty about it when you really don't need to. It was my fault, not yours, and I just wish you would stop bringing that up."

I sat there for a moment, shocked silent by his words. My eyes started to fill with unwanted tears, and my voice cracked. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Aw, Katy!" He was at my side again instantly, brushing away my tears. "I didn't mean to be so edgy, I just hate to see you keep beating yourself up like that."

"Katy?" I asked, smiling.

He shrugged. "I figured you needed a shorter name that was easier to say."

I picked up my shirt, pulling it back on, just as Nicole knocked on our door.

"Come on lovers, Ben just called!"

Riley grabbed my hand, and positioned himself in an action stance.

"Come on, Katy, it's show time."

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

**Well did you like it? Did you not like it? Please review! **


	13. XIII: Library of Congress, Again

**Well, here's chapter 13! Told you, I'd be quick about it. I just hope it's a good enough chapter for you guys… It's mostly recaps of the movie, but I promise the next chapter will be more original!**

**Well, enjoy!**

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

_**Kathleen**_

Abigail, Riley, and I stood together outside the Library of Congress as we waited for Ben. Actually, we sat at the bottom of the stairs, but it was the same thing. Nicole had still decided to stay at Patrick's claiming that she had a stomach-ache, though I didn't believe her.

I had a feeling that it was more because of Ben than anything else, but I didn't really want to argue with her. I could understand why, since he had been giving her the cold shoulder lately, which was obviously upsetting to her. I think the problem was that Ben wasn't totally _out _of love with Abigail, which seemed to be the source of the problem.

Anyways, I was pretty bored as we sat there, waiting. Riley had pulled me onto his lap, and I buried my face in the crook of his neck. There was a tense silence hanging thick in the air, so all we could do was nervously wait and hope Ben hadn't been caught. Of course, I knew he hadn't been caught, but I couldn't divulge that information, so I tried to appear as nervous as the others.

"He's here." Riley murmured, and I could feel his throat vibrating slightly as he spoke. I got to my feet, allowing Riley to stand up too. We waited for Ben to reach us before we started up the stairs.

"We're close." He affirmed. He paused, staring at us a moment. "Where's Nicole?"

"She's back at the house." I answered quietly.

Ben quickly turned back to his father's car, commanding him to go back to the house and stay with Nicole. Then the four of us walked into the Library in what I also liked to call the 'Dramatic Walking-In Scene'. I tried my hardest to not ruin the moment by also trying to appear very serious, but it was kind of hard for me, and I almost cracked up laughing once, though I was able to contain myself.

Riley grasped my hand, leading me along up through the library to the door with the keypad. Ben was just about to punch in the code when I spoke up.

"We've got to stop doing things like this." I muttered, and everyone gave me a confused look. "Breaking into all these places we shouldn't." I clarified. Ben nodded gravely and opened the door.

"What did the President say the code was?" Abigail asked.

"2-3-4-7-8-6." Ben recited quickly. I stood still for a moment, wondering what I should do. Then I proceeded to stride over to the shelf and I stared for a moment at exactly where it was.

"Here." I motioned to Ben. "It's here."

We both counted the numbers until our fingers met and Ben's face fell.

"Maybe someone checked it out..?" Riley murmured. I rolled my eyes, looking up at the combination lock.

"Ben, look at that." I pointed. He took a sharp breath, beginning to pull the books off the shelf and empty them into Riley's arms.

"It's a lock." Ben said, excitement playing across his face. "The location is the combination."

"The location's the combination." Riley whispered to himself and I nodded happily to him. Ben dialed in the numbers and a drawer slid out. And the drawer contained the President's Book. Riley hurried to set down the stack of books on the table. Ben carefully took the Book out of the drawer.

"I was right." Riley spoke quietly.

Ben grinned, giving Riley an acknowledging nod. "Well done, Mr. Poole." A slow smile spread across my face as I realized that it was one of my favorite parts of the movie.

Ben opened the Book, clearing his throat as he turned the pages, Riley peering over his shoulder eagerly.

"Area 51!" He whispered excitedly.

"Shhh!"

"It's the Kennedy assassination."

"SHHH! We don't have time." Ben told him.

Riley nodded. "It's true."

"There!" I slid my hand between Ben and Riley, stopping Ben's quick page flipping.

"April, 1865. Queen Victoria sends Pike two coded missives. The first is received, contains information regarding New World treasure: The City of Gold."

Riley's excitement seemed to fade a bit. "The Queen wanted to _help_ the Confederacy?"

"Well they needed cotton from the South, and a divided America would've been weaker and easier to take back." I explained quickly. Ben nodded quickly, reading the next passage.

"'The second missive was thought to contain a Play-fair cipher suggesting contact with Laboulaye, who'll hide clues before his death.' That's the cipher that was on the page that Thomas tried to burn."

"The one that we have." Riley added.

"Exactly. '1880. Resolute Desk arrives in Washington sent by Queen to President Hayes.'"

Ben held up the picture of the plank to show us all, and I caught my breath.

"The missing plank from the White House." Abigail marveled, taking the picture from Ben.

"That's amazing." I said softly, peering over her shoulder. "Remarkable."

"The last entry from President Coolidge: 'Found a plank in secret desk compartment. Plank photographed and then destroyed. Borglum commissioned to destroy landmarks in sacred Black Hills mountains.'"

"Mount Rushmore!" I exclaimed a little too loudly. Ben and Riley both shushed me and I shrank back a little, stepping away from the table.

"He carved it to protect Cibola." Ben whispered.

"Mount Rushmore was a cover-up." Riley mumbled to himself, appearing surprised. Suddenly sirens began wailing in the distance and Riley and I flew to the window. "There's my tax dollars at work coming to arrest me." He said bitterly.

"They're not coming for, they're coming for me. Go to the car, all three of you."

"No, Ben -" Abigail attempted to argue, but Ben shook his head.

"Go!" He said more forcefully. I felt Riley's hand clasping mine, pulling me along as we escaped.

We went down farther and farther into the depths of the Library, following Abigail the whole way.

"How do you know where you're going?" Riley asked quietly as we hurried down a hallway.

"I used to date a librarian here." Abigail replied. She walked ahead of us a little ways, and Riley suddenly sprinted after her.

"Was it cool?!"

"Riley, slow down!" I said as loudly as I dared. He was still pulling me by the hand. I imagined at that moment that Ben was walking ever so carefully across the glass ceiling.

"How are we going to find Ben?" Riley asked as we burst through the door to the outside.

"I don't know." Abigail admitted. As we turned a corner, we ran right into two FBI agents, causing Abby and me both to let out a shriek.

"Who are you?" One of the agents demanded, and Abigail quickly produced her badge.

"We work here!" She spat out quickly. "They told us to evacuate."

"And her?" He inclined his head toward me.

"She's a friend." Abigail explained, and I gave her a thankful look.

"I don't know what's going on in there, one second I'm reading a nice book…" Riley tried to sound frightened, and to tell the truth, he probably was.

"Alright, you three can go." The agent nodded, giving Abigail her ID badge. "Be ready to give them your ID when you exit."

The three of thanked him, quickly getting into Abigail's SUV.

"Start the car." Riley said quickly. "Put it in gear." I peeked in the rear-view mirror and saw Ben crouching behind the car. The agent became suspicious of our hesitation.

"Come on, it's clear, let's go!"

"The trunk!" I whispered to Abby, and she hit the button as soon as she took off. I heard a thud in the back, telling me that Ben had landed in the trunk.

"Drive, drive, drive!" Ben shouted, and I found that I had a white-knuckled grip on the door-handle. The barricade slowly began to rise.

"I don't think so!" Abigail cried out, and car bounced over the barricade, jarring everyone around.

"That did not turn out the way it was supposed to!" Riley said loudly.

"How'd they find us so quickly?" Abigail sounded confused.

"I'll tell you how!" Riley exclaimed. "The President is a tattle-tale!"

Even this caused me to giggle a bit, though I hid my laughter behind my hand. Riley gave me a strange look, and I smiled sheepishly at him, causing him to start smiling as well.

"How'd the President feel about being kidnapped?" Abigail gently teased.

"He was OK." Ben replied breathlessly. We started on our way back to Patrick's house, and I had a sneaking suspicion that the next morning we'd be taking a flight to South Dakota.

-OoOoOoO-

_**Nicole**_

I sat in Patrick's living room, bored out of my mind. I stared at the TV as I watched some random reality TV show that I didn't even really care about. I just needed a distraction, anything…

I had really wanted to go with Kathleen, but I opted out, fearing I might 'accidentally' hurt Abigail if I spent more than 5 minutes in her presence, which was the main reason for my locking myself in my room most of the time.

I couldn't help it: I really despised that woman.

'_Damn her attractiveness and that accent that Ben finds so appealing.'_

I was mad at Ben as well, though I was still unclear as to _why_. Was he really still in love with Abigail? Well, I certainly thought so, and I didn't like it. I was so confused; I'd never acted like this just because of a guy. When things were ending, I usually just got over it. But not this time, and it was difficult for me. I tried to think what had attracted me to Ben in the first place.

'_His brains, his bravery, his selflessness, his determination?'_

Whatever it was, it all seemed to be over-shadowed by his annoying stubbornness. Even I would admit that I was stubborn too, but Ben was on a different level, and it frustrated me.

I was shaken from my thoughts by the sound of the front door opening. I jumped, peering over the back of the couch. To my relief, it was only Patrick walking back in.

"Hi." He held up his hand in greeting.

"Hi." I said slowly. "What're you doing here?"

"Ben wanted me to see how you were doing."

"Oh."

There were a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"You two having problems?"

"I guess you could say that." I pulled my blanket closer around me, uncomfortable.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Nah, that's OK. Thanks for offering though."

I stared blankly at the TV, switching it to the news. They blathered on about some unimportant story, though I pretended to be totally interested in it. Patrick sat in the chair beside me, still looking uncomfortable. His cell phone rang, and he answered it.

"Hello, Ben, are you OK?"

I couldn't hear Ben's response, but I knew what it was anyways.

"You can do that?" Patrick asked, surprised. He lifted the phone away from his ear, looking at the screen. "I got it." He paused again. "Why me?" He sighed. "OK, I'll go. See you."

He turned off the phone. "I have to go to Emily's office. Would you like to come with me?"

"Sure." I sighed, standing up. "Got nothing better to do." I slid on my shoes, and we went out into the car, taking off. I switched on the radio, and I recognized the song immediately.

"I love this song!"

Patrick looked surprised. "Most kids your age don't even know this song."

"Well, I'm just special that way." I grinned.

-OoOoO-

In seemingly no time at all, we were walking into Emily's office.

"Emily?" I called out quietly, and she stepped out of the back room, where I knew Mitch was hiding right at that moment.

"Patrick, Nicole, what are you doing here?"

"Ben sent us." I explained.

"He found the other half of the plank." Patrick said. I held out his phone so Emily could look at the picture.

"Ah, I see. Well, I'll help you, of course." She sat slowly on the couch. "' Islands... Islands of stone in a sea of grass.' That's what the Lakota called the Black Hills. 'Find where the moon touches the Earth and release the hummingbird.'" Emily's hand rested on Patrick's for a brief moment.

"Thank you." I said graciously. I stood to leave, but Emily placed a hand on my arm.

"Could you stay for a moment? I-I'd like to discuss something with you." Her arm was trembling, and she looked up at Patrick. "You go on, I'll take her home."

I stared at Emily with wide, fearful eyes.

"I don't know…" Patrick said warily.

"I'll take care of her, don't worry, we're just going to chat."

"Well, OK…" Before I could say anything, Patrick had slid out of the door, anxious to leave the office as soon as humanly possible.

"Emily!" I cried, desperation and fear lacing my voice. "You know he's here! You have to let me…"

Before I could even finish I heard the door shut and realized Mitch had been behind the door all along

"I'm sorry, he forced me…" Emily sounded truly repentant, and looked near tears.

Mitch gave me a crooked grin. "Why hello, it's nice to meet you."

"What do you want?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, I see it like this." I heard Mitch turn the door lock into place. "Why _just_ take Emily hostage? Why take _one_ when I can get _two_ for the same price?"

I looked from Emily, who was visibly upset, to Mitch, who was continuing to grin, and my stomach lurched.

"Oh…Great."

**-OoOoOoOoO-**

**Oh dear… Well, I want to apologize to Nicole's inspiration for having her be kidnapped. Sorry.**

**Please review, it makes me smile. (Most of the time, unless it's a sad review.)**


	14. XIV: Outbursts and Mistakes

Kathleen

**This one has Nicole's POV! I haven't done that in a whole, and I felt like I needed a change. It switches from Kathleen to Nicole to Kathleen again. Nicole's POV is actually quite short, but it's there. **

**Part of a deleted scene from the DVD 'Pursuit at Mt. Rushmore,' was also used for the second half of Kathleen's POV, just for those of you who didn't get a chance to see it. I also sort of liked that scene better than the original, because it explains more. So that part was not mine.**

**And just so you all know, school has started up for me, and it may take a wee bit longer to get chapters up for you all, but I'll do my very best! Not that I was getting them up very quickly on summer break either, but I'll certainly try!**

**I don't own National Treasure, the plot/characters/whatever. So don't sue me please!**

**OK, let's roll!**

**-OoOoOoO-**

_**Kathleen**_

When we returned to Patrick's house, we found that his car was missing, and figured he was still with Emily. I guess Nicole had gone with, as all the lights in the house were off. I stumbled in the door, resting against the stair railing, exhausted. I closed my eyes, feeling very drowsy. The high of excitement was wearing off, leaving just exhaustion in me.

"Go pack." Ben commanded the three of us the moment we stepped inside.

"Can't we get some sleep first?" I asked with a moan. Ben shook his head.

"There's not enough time. As soon as Dad and Nicole get back we're catching the next flight to South Dakota."

"Wouldn't the people in the airport recognize you?" Abigail asked, concerned. Ben shrugged.

"Let's see if he'll fit in a suitcase." I suggested jokingly, though my voice was very quiet.

"Wow, she is tired." Riley remarked with a little smile. He scooped me up into his arms. "Come on, little Katy; let me put you to bed."

"OK," I mumbled into his chest. I thought I heard him laughing, but I couldn't tell. I heard him opening the door, and he laid me down on the bed. I took off my shoes and socks very slowly, allowing my head to fall back on the pillow. I pulled the covers over me, and closed my eyes. Riley gently pressed his warm lips to my forehead.

"Good night, love." His voice was a whisper.

"Night."

Barely two minutes later, I had dropped off into a peaceful sleep.

-**OoOoO-**

I awoke to someone shaking me.

"Is Nicole home?" I asked, opening my eyes slowly. I snuck a look at the clock. 3:07 AM.

"No, and that's the problem." Riley sounded a little worried. I sat straight up. I'd been sleeping almost 4 hours, and she _still _hadn't returned? This was just too weird. "Patrick said Emily would bring her home, but she never did."

I got out of bed as quickly as I could, hurrying downstairs. Ben, Abigail, and Patrick sat in the living room silently. I noted that Ben was still wearing the same tux. In fact, no one had changed clothes. He looked a bit upset, and a tiny bit guilty.

"I should've…"

"It's not your fault." Abigail said soothingly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Did you try calling her?" I asked.

"Yeah, a few times." Ben's forehead creased with worry, and I felt a knot in my stomach.

'_Mitch.'_

"Kathleen, do you know what happened to them?" Patrick asked. I paled.

"I don't think I can tell…"

"Forget that!" Ben cried suddenly. "Just _please_ tell us what you know!"

I shrank back a little, and I felt Riley slip a comforting arm around my waist. "Don't pressure her, Ben. You know it's complicated."

"But my mom and Nicole –"

"Well, maybe I'd tell you if you weren't being so stupid!" I cried out angrily, my frustration toward Ben that I'd always felt during this movie finally being released. Tears of anger and frustration welled. "You haven't been treating your friends very well, Ben! You pretty much keep blowing Riley off, and you're pretty much ignoring Nicole, just to prove that you're right! I know your family's very important to you, but maybe you should think of someone _else's _feelings once in a while!"

I slipped away from Riley, running up the stairs in flash.

'_Where'd that come from?' _I wondered as I flew into the room, shutting the door hard behind me.

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and down the hall. Riley's voice spoke at the door. "Kathleen, what was that about?"

"I don't know." I said truthfully through the door. "I just needed to get that off my chest. The way he's been treating Nicole lately hardly seemed fair, and I just got frustrated…"

I paused. "I didn't mean a lot of that."

"I know." He sighed through the door. "Part of that was right, he wasn't being such a great friend, but he needs your help, Kathleen. He's really worried about Nicole and Emily."

"I know."

"Well… If you won't tell Ben what happened, will you tell me?"

"Hang on." I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. Then I slowly opened the door. "I'll talk to him." I walked to the edge of the stairs, peering down at Ben. "Ben…" My voice sounded tiny, like a child apologizing to their parents. "I'm sorry."

"So am I." He paused. "I've been a little… narrow-minded lately, I guess. And I'm sorry." He directed the second apology to Riley, who nodded to acknowledge it.

"It was Mitch." I whispered, and everyone looked at me.

"What'd you say?"

"Wilkinson took them. They'll be with him at Mt. Rushmore tomorrow." I said a little more loudly. "We have to call him tomorrow morning. After you figure out what the clue means."

"Thank you." Ben said softly and I nodded slowly. "I'm going to go change. Then we're off to Rushmore."

**-OoOoO-**

_**Nicole**_

I looked around my 'prison'. It was really only the back of some dark SUV, but it seemed more like a prison. My hands were tied with duct-tape. Seems that villains in this universe are a bit alike sometimes.

Anyways, they hadn't even been nice enough to let me be in the same car with Emily. I could've at least talked to her about the Ben situation, but it didn't seem that I'd be able to do that.

We had been driving for hours, or at least it felt like. I could tell that it was morning.

"When are we going to get there?" I moaned tiredly, and Daniel gave me a glare.

"Shut up!" He demanded, and it sounded funny with his Southern accent. I giggled. "What's so funny?"

"N-Nothing," I hid my grin behind my duct-taped hands.

"We'll be there in ten minutes." He said sourly. I stared out the window at the gray world. At least it looked gray with those windows. Lots of hills and rocks.

"The Gray Hills." I murmured to myself, and he shot me another stern look.

"What'd I tell you about talking?! Shut up!"

I sank low into my seat. "Fine! Jeez, you don't have to be so sour about it…"

He grunted and glared at me in response. I paused for about a minute, then got restless.

"How did you get into this sort of job, exactly?"

He hesitated. "It was sort of a family job. My dad was into it, and my brothers and I…inherited it."

"Oh."

There was a short pause.

"I hate this!"

His sudden exclamation startled me. I looked up, surprised.

"I don't like being the bad guy." This time he lowered voice a bit.

'_A villain who doesn't want to be a villain. There's something new.'_

"Well, then why do you keep doing this stuff?"

"Mitch needs help." There seemed to be something else behind his tone.

"Well, can't you just tell him you don't want to? Why do you stick around?"

He hesitated again. "Mitch…has a bit of a temper. I don't want to make him angry, like before."

I sat back in my seat, mulling over these words. "What would he do?"

"Nothing. I didn't say that." His face turned sour again. I stared out the window, trying to find a way to occupy myself and not worry about what I'd just been told. So I counted birds.

'_2, 7, 9, 10, 14…'_

"Here we are." The car stopped, and he opened my door for me, pulling me out of the car. "Come on." I saw Mitch, Seth, and Emily standing by a rock, where they'd been waiting.

"Oh joy," I muttered to myself. "Looks like the fun begins now."

**-OoOoO-**

_**Kathleen**_

The morning sun was bright in the Black Hills, and it was surprisingly not crowded near the museum. I wasn't sure how we had managed to end up away from all the tourists. Ben and Patrick hung around closer to the building while the rest of us stood together, looking closely at the carved stone faces on the mountain.

"I don't see anything that even remotely resembles a hummingbird." Abigail sighed.

Riley raised his arm, pointing. "That kind of looks like a turtle."

I couldn't resist smacking his arm.

"Ow!" He pulled his arm back, holding his 'injured' elbow. "That hurt."

"You're a wimp, Riley." I rolled my eyes.

"The hummingbird, the Earth, the moon. It doesn't make any sense." Ben mused.

"As if the clues ever do?" Riley replied sarcastically. "None of this ever makes sense."

I shrugged. "I suppose you're right."

The five of us drifted inside, mulling around the museum. "I'm not even sure what we're supposed to be looking for." Patrick said, sounding a bit frustrated with himself.

"Did Mom say anything else?"

Patrick paused. "No."

I suddenly began to panic, going through the original conversation in my head. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, all she said was that she'd take Nicole home."

"Oh no!" I leapt to my feet, suddenly pacing. "You should've left Nicole at the house! She left out something important. The connection to the hummingbird."

"What do you mean?" Ben's face wore a puzzled expression.

"She was supposed to say something about the sacrifices she made." I looked up at Ben. "How she would watch you when you were small."

A spark illuminated in Ben's eyes. "Sacrifice?" He whispered dryly. "The hummingbird… That was a story she would tell me when I was little. A Lakota myth about the hummingbird… The spirit of sacrifice."

"She gave me a false clue?" Patrick sounded incredulous.

"No, no, she wouldn't do that. She knew the information was for Ben, not for you." Abigail cut in.

"Well why that story?" Riley asked. "How does that tie in?"

"She's trying to tell us something." Ben murmured, and I nodded slowly, watching him. "In the story, the hummingbird sacrifices itself to save the Earth and the moon…" His expression grew more shocked with each word. "…which it believes is its family."

"She's the hummingbird." I spoke up.

"Release the hummingbird." Patrick added, his tone urging. Ben quickly pulled his phone from his pocket his fingers flying as he dialed the number. The rest of us watched, the atmosphere in the room a mixture of curiosity and nervous tension.

There was pause. "Put my mother on the phone." He spoke quietly. Another short pause. "Put my mother on the phone!"

I anxiously lowered myself onto Riley's lap, my arms wrapping around his neck. "You did good." He whispered gently. I nodded.

"Mom."

Emily only spoke for a few seconds, and Ben suddenly pulled the dead phone away from his ear, staring at it. He almost looked like he was contemplating throwing across the room.

"We've got to do something." Patrick murmured.

"Yeah, but what?" Riley spoke up. "We're not exactly armed _or_ dangerous."

Ben swallowed hard, reviewing the situation. "I-I've got to turn myself in."

Abigail's eyes grew wide. "What?"

**-OoOoOoO-**

**Please review!! I'll give you a cookie! **


	15. XV: Into Mt Rushmore

**Here's the next chapter, once again out in a somewhat timely fashion! Hooray! I hope you enjoy! **

**-shameless self-promotion time- I made You-Tube video for National Treasure! Hehe, link will be in my profile.**

**I do not own anything. –pout-**

**-OoOoOoO-**

_**Nicole**_

"Translation of the second half of the plank says we need to find a big cat."

We had finally gotten up onto Mt. Rushmore, and I was starting to get annoyed. Daniel had had a crushing grip on my arm, and had forced me to keep quiet by not-so-subtly reminding me that there was still a gun in his possession. So they dragged Emily and me along, up the mountain.

"Benjamin would've found it by now." Emily insisted.

"I don't think so." Mitch replied, his tone equal to hers. "It doesn't exist anymore. Cougar Peak was destroyed during the last phase of construction. We've got to get to the highest point, and this is the only way up."

Our captors pulled us around a corner, wrenching our arms.

"Ow!" I exclaimed through clenched teeth. "Would you mind loosening your grip a bit?"

He either didn't hear or chose to ignore me, but I had a feeling it was the latter, because he tightened on my arm instead. I scowled, looking at Emily, who seemed just as displeased with this as I was.

We continued for a few minutes more, and just as were about to head up another staircase, I heard a familiar voice.

"Assistant Chief Peter Sadusky, FBI."

We were suddenly surrounded by a swarm of agents, and all 5 of us threw our arms up into the air in shock. The three brothers were forced to the ground.

"Please, I'm not -" Daniel attempted to speak, but a female agent silenced him.

"Don't talk!"

He looked up at me, and I almost felt sorry for him, but I couldn't really bring myself to feel totally sorry. After all, he _had_ kidnapped me, hadn't he?

"You are under arrest for the murder of Dr. Gregory Nichols and the illegal capture and detention of Dr. Emily Appleton."

'_Murder?!' _My mouth went dry. _'They killed Dr. Nichols."_

"That is correct." Emily agreed.

"You ladies can put your hands down." Sadusky nodded to us, and my hands quickly fell to my side as I watched the agents haul Daniel and Seth away. I was barely paying enough attention to hear the voice behind me.

"Nicole, Mom."

"Ben!" I rushed to him, throwing my arms around him. "I've never been so happy to see you!"

"You're both OK." He gave me a small smile, and I released him, heat rushing to my cheeks.

"I knew you'd figure it out." She smiled, hugging him tightly as well. It was then that I noticed the rope tied around wrists and gasped.

"You turned yourself in?!"

"Smart move." Mitch commented. "No wonder the feds are here."

Emily peered over her son's back, and then released him, appearing furious. "What have you done this time?"

"Your son kidnapped the President of the United States." Sadusky said slowly. Emily looked from Sadusky to Ben, who grinned back at her.

"You know what, sir? I'm oddly proud that he pulled that off." Emily gave Ben a small smile.

Sadusky shrugged. "Understandably."

"So, Wilkinson…" Ben began. I winced slightly. "He has the final clue, doesn't he?"

"Yes, a letter to the Confederate general Pike..." Emily began in hushed tones.

"From the Queen of England!" Ben finished loudly.

"How'd you know that?" Mitch asked incredulously, and Sadusky repeated the question in a similar tone.

Ben turned to Sadusky. "Can we talk alone?" He leaned down, whispering so only those standing very close could hear. "I took the book." He then pulled back, looking at Sadusky through his small round lenses. Sadusky frowned deeply, dragging Ben to an isolated spot without another word.

Emily and I glanced at one another, though she seemed more confused than I was.

"Do you know what's going on?" She asked. I shrugged, looking at her innocently.

"Haven't a clue."

**-OoOoOoO-**

_**Kathleen**_

We waited. And waited. It seems we were doing a lot of that lately. Just waiting. This time we were on Mount Rushmore, stuck in a narrow spot between two rocks. I was leaning against one side and Riley stood directly across from me. We stood there, staring at each other, studying each other's faces. There was really no reason did this except for sheer boredom, and it gave us something to do besides sit and stare blankly into space.

So I made careful notes in my head, trying to distract myself from the impending danger that was only minutes away. There were the basics of his appearance, of course. Thick, dark brown hair, some-what pale skin, his big blue eyes. Right now his eyebrows were knotted in concentration as he stared at me intently, his pink mouth clamped tightly shut. He still had a boyishness about him that made him even more adorable. He seemed so innocent and light.

But he looked tired. There were small dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn't slept well. Though no one really had that night, to be perfectly honesty.

I wondered what he saw when he looked at me. I was no great beauty; my hair was about the same color as his, straight and long. I had blue-gray eyes and I was rather pale too. I just felt that I was too… plain.

I was jolted from my thoughts by Patrick and Abigail stepping between on the two of us on his way down the rocky ledge.

"Oh, thank goodness." Abigail breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the arriving threesome, and I dashed down, pressing past them, not hearing anything else.

"Nicole!" I went past Ben and Emily, throwing my arms around her neck. She looked even more tired than the rest of us. "You're OK."

She surprised me by hugging me back, which she hardly ever did. "Yeah, I'm fine." She gave me the tiniest of smiles. "You?"

"Fine." I answered breathlessly. "I was so worried about you! Are you hurt?"

"Oh, stop that!" She shook her head. "No, they didn't hurt me." She sighed deeply. "Why am _I _always the one getting kidnapped?!"

I gave her a smile. "Because you like to provoke the villains?"

"Speaking of which…" She nodded her head in the direction of the fourth addition to our party.

"Looks like you got your whole family here."

"Yeah, I do." Ben agreed. It felt strange to hear him saying that. _'He thinks of us as family.'_

Riley looked down from the ledge, giving Mitch a sour look. "I thought the idea was to get him arrested."

"Just so we're clear, if you touch one of them, I'll kill you." Ben threatened evenly.

Mitch sighed. "I'm only looking for the treasure, Ben. Just like you." He pushed past Riley, and I couldn't help but notice the look of severe annoyance and dislike that flickered onto Riley's face.

I grabbed Nicole's hand, smiling. "Come on, Nikki, we've got a little bit of a hike ahead of us."

**-OoOoO-**

After walking for what seemed like an eternity, we reached the tiny lake, and managed to get up onto the stones in the middle of the lake, hunting for the _'noble bird'_.

"I still don't see it." Abigail announced.

"Alright Mitch, let's have it. What's the clue from Queen Victoria's letter?" Ben asked, sounding slightly out of breath.

"'The entrance shall only be revealed in a cloudless rain.' Figure that one out."

"So…" Riley paused. "We come back when it's raining?"

I rolled my eyes, smacking in the arm again.

"Would you STOP?!"

"Stop acting like an idiot."

"That was a legitimate question!!"

"Excuse me." Ben spoke up. "Could I interrupt for a moment? Thank you." He took a deep breath. "Cloudless mean the sun. You need a sunny day _and_ rain. We need water."

Everyone produced a bottle of water out of nowhere it seemed, and at no time at all, we were all spreading out across the rock. I debated walking over to the other spot. I had already caused enough trouble.

"This would be easier if we had a fire hose…" Nicole mused. I rolled my eyes, dumping the contents of my bottle onto the rock.

"Nope, nothing."

Then, of course, we heard Abigail's excited shouting, and everyone gathered around. looking.

"It's an eagle." She said.

"'The noble bird'…" Ben sighed.

"'will give you passage.'" Emily finished.

"Now what?" Nicole asked.

"I think we need to join hands, and in a noble manner, pass over the bird." Everyone, myself included stared blankly at Riley for a few seconds, then started crying out their own theories. I managed to hold back a giggle when Riley started flapping his arms. He looked so _ridiculous! _

"We can stand around guessing for a while or I could give you the next clue." Everyone fell silent as Mitch raised his voice. "'Surrender your hand to the heart of the warrior.'"

"And the eagle is a symbol of the warrior!" Realization seemed to dawn on Emily's face. Ben moved to put his hand into the small hole in the rock, and she suddenly cried out. "Ben, no, wait, wait! That's probably a horrible trap! Tell him!"

"It's a horrible trap." Patrick repeated dully.

"It'd be a pity to come this far and not even try, wouldn't it?"

"Shut up, Wilkinson." Nicole snapped. "Getting on my nerves."

"I'll do it Ben." Riley said loyally.

"No, it's OK." Ben reassured him. His brow furrowed in concentration as he slid his arm into the hole. And though I was prepared for it, I still jumped when the screaming started. Of course, that might've been due to the fact that Riley was pretty much screaming in my ear.

Then of course, Ben's screams dissolved into a fit of laughter. "I'm sorry, I could resist!" This earned him a slap from both Abigail and Nicole. His face abruptly turned serious again. "Actually it… It feels like a latch."

He pulled it back, and of course, the entryway opened. Everyone hurried over to look at where the rocks had fallen out of place. We all scrambled to the new opening, and one by one we filed into the cave. Emily fluttered around, exclaiming about all of the ancient relics.

"Ben, what is that?" Abigail pointed at the mechanism in the middle of the room.

"Looks like a counter-weight to hold the door open."

"What's that sound?" Riley wondered aloud. He wandered dangerously close to the wooden contraption.

In spite of myself, I found myself trying to pull him back, shouting out "Riley, wait, don't-"

But I was too late. He rope had snapped, and Riley stumbled back, knocking me over in the process. It reminded me vaguely of when he'd seen the dead guy in the _Charlotte_. After a few seconds of collapsing, I heard the door slam shut and the bolt falling into place.

"-Touch that." I finished dully.

He scrambled up, helping me to my feet. "Sorry. You OK?"

"I'm fine." I brushed some dust out of my hair.

"Patrick, what've you done?!" Emily was already admonishing him, even though it wasn't his fault.

"Some kind of bolt. I didn't do it."

"Yeah, the credit goes to Captain Curious over here." Nicole jabbed a thumb in Riley's direction, and his cheeks went pink.

"Only one way out of here now." Mitch announced, and everyone turned to look at him. "Forward."

I sighed to myself. "Thanks, Captain Obvious." I murmured. "I'd have never figured that out myself,"

We advanced through the cave, and Emily was still excited about all the ancient stuff.

"Looks like we're going to be moving some rocks here people." Mitch cried out. "There's a tunnel back through here."

"Guys, look at this!" Riley shined his light in the opposite direction. "It's a little golden man."

I stood at the edge of the tunnel, hesitating. Something struck me, and I suddenly ran out to grab Riley's arm, attempting to pull him back. But again, I moved a second too late, because just as I moved forward to grab him, the floor began to collapse beneath us."

**-OoOoOoO-**

**Ooh, how will Kathleen fare on the teetering platform of doom? Find out next time!**

**Reviews are great, I love reviews! So please do! **


	16. XVI: Seperate Journeys

**Hey everybody!**

**Well, a few things to say. First, how about some shameless promotion? I've written a story with a new member of our NT fan-fic family, ILoveNationalTreasure. It's called 'What Just Happened?', and we'd really appreciate it if you'd check it out, please.**

**And National Treasure is not mine. Yeah, you know that already, so…**

**CHAPTER 16!! D**

**-OoOoOoO-**

_**Kathleen**_

I fell hard on my side, and I was afraid I'd broken my arm because of how I landed on the stone table. I didn't even hear Nicole shouting out my name before the door in the ceiling closed. The stone table was already tilting in every direction, and I was too close to the edge for comfort. I felt myself sliding rolling closer and closer to the edge, and panic rose in my chest.

"RILEY!" I didn't even really know I was screaming. "HELP!"

'_Oh god, I'm going to fall off the edge, I'm going to die.'_

As I slid closer still to the edge, two strong hands clamped on my wrists, halting my fall for a moment. Their grip was much too strong to be Riley's, and I looked up into the icy blue eyes of Mitch Wilkinson.

"Hang on."

"Okay." My voice was a little calmer, and I tried to swing my legs up onto the stone, without success. He pulled me up the rest of the way, and it seemed he'd hardly made any effort at all. "Thank you." I breathed. Mitch just stared at me, shrugging indifferently. I slowly crawled on all fours to the center of the table, and looked up to see Riley staring at me, his eyes still wide.

"I'm fine." I said loudly, not sure who I was trying to reassure. He gave a small nod and seemed to snap out of his trance. The table finally settled into a somewhat flat position, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Mitch shone his flashlight down into the dark oblivion below.

"Nothing." He sighed. "Just a big old black hole."

I swayed on my feet, staring at the design on the stone death trap, waiting for Abigail's excited proclamation.

"Ben, look, it's a ladder!" She paused, looking it over. "Or… what's left of a ladder."

"Toss me the light." Ben held out his hands and effortlessly caught the flashlight Abigail had thrown to him. "Riley, move to that corner -"

Riley was already moving, and the table tipped slightly, causing me to let out a short shriek.

"No, wait!" Ben cried. "You move to that corner as I move to this corner." Ben indicated where he was moving.

"OK." Riley breathed.

"One step at a time." I thought Ben sounded like some kind of instructor of some sort, trying to talk in a soothing voice. "Good. If we can raise this corner, I think I'll reach it."

Mitch stepped forward without warning.

"Whoa, hey!" I shouted, trying to stay steady on my feet.

"Stop! Red light!"

"You're not helping!"

Mitch glared at Riley and Abigail, then turned back to Ben. "I can get up there just as easy as you can."

Ben inched forward, trying to balance out the tilting Mitch's movements had caused. "Just stop."

"Seriously, just let Ben go." I knew the plea would do nothing, but I figured it was worth a shot.

"Hey, it's four against one here. I ain't going last, and if I'm not going last, I might as well go first."

Try as I might, I couldn't make sense of that logic. So I just stared at Ben and Mitch while they moved towards each other and Abigail and Riley repositioned themselves.

"Look!" Ben shouted, but Mitch grabbed him by the shirt in a threatening manner.

"What's it gonna be?"

Ben also grabbed Mitch by the shirt, and they stood there for several seconds, staring icily at each other and the black hole below until Ben gave up.

"We'll do this your way." They switched positions and released each other. "Abigail, Riley, the three of us will move together on the count of 3. Kathleen, just stay where you are."

I nodded slowly, watching as Ben counted up to 3 and the table lifted on the corner where Mitch stood, and then everyone ran forward, nearly running right into me in the middle. Mitch climbed up the ladder, ignoring Riley as he shouted out questions about what was happening.

"I've been doing the math here…" Abigail's voice was quiet.

"I know." Ben's voice had a similar tone, and we all stared at each other.

"Some one stays behind." I said slowly.

"Just promise you'll come back for me." Riley's gaze focused on me intently. "I can do the math too."

"No, I'll stay." Ben sighed. "You go, Riley. For Kathleen." He inclined his head in my direction.

"No, Ben…" Riley attempted to argue, but Ben would have none of it.

"Kathleen, you go next."

I nodded slowly, wondering if I could even make it up the ladder, considering my severe lack of arm strength. I sighed, contemplating this as I walked forward to the corner and grabbed onto the last rung of the ladder firmly. I turned and gave the rest of them a nod, and soon the solid table disappeared from beneath my feet, my grasp on the ladder being the only thing standing between me and my death. I shuddered slightly at the thought and started climbing ever so slowly.

My arms burned as I used every ounce of strength in my muscles to keep climbing. In one moment my hand almost missed the rung above me, setting my heart pounding in my chest.

'_Don't look down, don't look down, look _anywhere_ except down.'_

Somehow, however, I made it up to the top where Mitch was standing, looking rather nonchalant. Down below, Abigail was getting ready for her turn and Ben and Riley were still arguing about who'd be the last one standing.

"Boys!" I shouted down at them, smiling. "That won't be necessary. There's a gold idol up here that we can use when the last person is getting ready to go."

"Oh." Riley replied, looking a little sheepish.

Soon enough, Abigail was on the ladder, and there was a fatal cracking sound in the wood.

"What are you doing?" Riley demanded.

"Nothing!"

Abigail had managed to actually get up on the ledge by herself this time, and was preparing the idol to roll it down. I heard Riley scream below and watched him jump across the gap onto the rope ladder.

"The idol!" Ben shouted. "Hurry!" His voice had risen, straining to sound calm.

The three of us who'd reached the top rolled the golden idol over to the ledge and rolled it down just as the platform started falling. Ben made it with just seconds to spare, and everyone was visibly relieved.

"You alright?" Mitch asked as Ben and Riley reached the rest of us. Riley pulled me into his arms, his entire body still shaking.

"It's OK, we're fine." I tried to get him to relax.

"Y-Yeah." He stammered quietly. "I know."

I released him, giving him a reassuring smile. Then I looked up at the earthen ceiling, wondering what had happened to Nicole after the trap door had shut behind us.

**-OoOoO-**

_**Nicole**_

"KATHLEEN!" I stared angrily at the trapdoor that blocked my view of what was happening below.

'_I never get to do any of the fun stuff.' _

I looked back at Patrick and Emily, sighing. "Looks like we're going to be moving some stones." I motioned down the blocked passage, knowing that was our only hope of getting out of there. Emily nodded slowly, looking very upset. I paused. "Ben's going to be fine, Emily, don't worry."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Trust me." I smiled. "I know he will."

She sighed to herself, brushing her eyes with the back of her hand. Patrick was already at work moving stones from the passageway. I moved to join him when I felt Emily's hand on my arm.

"Can I have a word with you?"

"Uh… OK?"

"I'm sorry about what happened with Mitch, but he said if I didn't…" Her eyes fell to the floor. "You and Patrick…"

"It's OK, they didn't do anything. I forgive you for that." I started to walk away again.

"There's something else." She said, her tone changing.

'_Uh-oh.'_

"Are you having trouble with Ben?"

"What gave it away?" I asked sarcastically. Sarcasm was good. It was better than anything else, anyways.

"It's because of Abigail, isn't it?"

I sighed. "I think so."

She patted my arm. "I'm sorry. Benjamin's never been good with women. I suppose he was looking for…" She stopped searching for the right word.

"A distraction?" I guessed. "I've sort of figured that out already. To be honest, I think I was too."

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well my boyfriend Drew broke up with me right before we got here."

And it was true. We were always an on-again-off-again couple, worse than anyone you could think of. I wasn't sure why, but we could never stay together, but we could never to stay apart from each other either. I sighed at the thought.

I pulled my arm back from her hand, going to help Patrick with the stones. The tunnel fell oddly silent as Patrick and I worked rhythmically to take out the stones while Emily stayed back, looking around at all the relics strewn about the cavern. I liked the silence; it was better than playing twenty questions with Emily.

Finally, after a good five minutes of working and a stubbed toe or two, there was a space large enough for a few people to squeeze through. I hopped up first, wiggling my way through easily.

"Go ahead, it's clear!" I shouted back to Patrick and Emily, and there was a muffled response. I briefly considered going on without them, but decided against it, knowing Emily would probably have some sort of panic attack if I disappeared. So I decided to sit down and pout about how I wasn't with the fun people. I'd rather be hanging off the edge of the giant stone table than be waiting for Ben's old parents to crawl through a tunnel.

After what felt like ages, they made it through unscathed and we continued our journey until we reached the rope that we were supposed to swing across.

"Shine your light over there." Patrick instructed, and he tossed his electric lantern across the ravine while I grabbed the rope in both hands.

"Wait!" Emily cried out. "Be careful!"

"I'll be fine, Emily."

In truth, I wasn't so sure. But I decided to be daring, and grabbed firmly onto the rope and ran forward, setting the rope swinging. I managed to jump off and the rope, but I fell onto my back and let out a little shout.

"Ow!"

"Nicole, are you OK?!" Emily sounded frantic. She was starting to remind me of my grandma, always worrying about every little thing that happened to me.

"I'm fine." I reassured her, pulling myself to my feet.

'_That's probably gonna leave a bruise later, though.' _

I stepped aside, making room for Patrick and Emily to land.

"Go ahead, it's clear!"

Though I normally would've been more interested in watching two old people swing across a ravine and start kissing, I decided to go on a little farther, exploring down the tunnel just a little farther. And there waited something I hadn't expected: A big stone door with a bunch of holes in it… And several arm-less skeletons. I screamed, jumping back away from the bodies. Of course, this sent Patrick and Emily running frantically to find me as I backed away from the dead people.

"Are you OK, dear?

"What happened?"

I pointed wordlessly at the dead bodies, and Patrick and Emily gasped. Patrick went over to inspect the stone door, Emily to inspect the skeletons. I winced as she yanked one of the broken arms off somebody, asking his pardon as she did so. So apparently we weren't the first people to get this far…

The room smelled bad, probably because of the dead people. I sighed, sitting down on a rock on the other end of the room from Ben's parents. I closed my eyes, wishing I could sleep; the backseat of a Jeep is not a very comfortable place to sleep, especially when your hands are tied together and the driver of said Jeep is blaring country music all night.

Several sickening crunches came from the other side of the room, announcing the crush of some dead guy's arm bone. Finally I heard Patrick speak.

"That's it."

I opened my eyes to see Emily staring at Patrick nervously as he stuck his arm through the hole in the door. I was waiting for him to pull a Ben and start screaming, but all I heard was a small _clunk_ and the door opened, water pouring in and soaking the room. I stood up, quickly passing them and hurrying through the door.

And like in a dream, I stepped through the hallway into the light of a gleaming golden city.

Cibola.

**-OoOoOoO-**

**What'd you think? I'd love some feedback, guys! **

**-AP**


	17. XVII: Drowning In Cibola

Kathleen

**Chapter 17! I can't believe this story is almost finished. Only a few more chapters, I believe. Now I'm sad… :( **

**Well, go ahead, read, please. :) **

**-OoOoOoO-**

_**Kathleen**_

Everyone stared out at the gleaming city in awe, taking in the breath-taking sight. It was really amazing to see it in person, so much bigger than anyone would imagine. Ben started shouting to his parents, snapping me out of my trance. Then I hear another voice, this time shouting to me.

"Kathleen!"

I looked up to see Nicole heading towards me, grinning. I nearly slipped in my haste to go meet her.

"Nicole!" I grabbed her by the hand, trying not to slip and kill myself on the wet gold. I grinned at her. "Pretty amazing, isn't?"

"You're not kidding, this thing is huge," She grinned back. "The City of Gold, huh?"

"The City of Gold," I nodded. She continued grinning, then skipped past me and over to Ben. She gave him a brief hug, asking him if he was OK. At that moment, an arm snaked around my waist, pulling me into a kiss. I smiled, throwing my arms around his neck, my fingers knotting in his hair. When he released me, I smiled.

"What was that for?"

"My treasure."

I laughed, kissing his nose. Then I paused, looking around.

"Maybe we should move… somewhere else," I suggested.

"Why?" He looked confused. Then there was a loud knocking sound, which he obviously heard. "What was that?"

"Well, uh…"

Before I could answer, there was an explosion that rocked the cave, and a torrent of water came rushing down, nearly knocking us both off the edge.

"WHOA!"

I fell to my hands and knees, trying to crawl across to a golden staircase

"Riley, come on!" I wasn't sure he even heard me. I jumped up onto the stairs, pretty much holding on for my life. As I began my descent, I saw Riley climb on beside me, soaked to the bone. I figured I probably looked even worse. My hair was quite an enemy of mine when it was wet. Of course, at that moment, I was hardly thinking about my hair. I realized the stairs ended a few feet above the bottom, so I had to jump down, splashing into the pool of water that had already formed. The water made harder to move quickly, but I did the best I could, following the other 5 and hoping Riley was behind me and unharmed. We all piled into the tiny room, Ben and Mitch pushing the huge lever open as Nicole and Abigail peered under the door.

"It's a tunnel! It fills up when you open the door!" Nicole shouted over the water. "We have to get on the other side and close it!"

"Patrick, Emily, go!" Riley urged. But Mitch released the lever, letting the door slam down. Riley spun around, furious. "Mitch, we've gotta be on the _other_ side of that door!"

"Nobody leaves unless I say so!" Mitch ordered. "That door's not gonna stay open by itself. We all know what has to happen here."

"One of us stays behind." Ben said, glaring at Mitch. There was a short pause.

"I vote Mitch." Riley piped up.

"This isn't a democracy." With these words Mitch delivered a blow to Ben, then Riley, and then grabbed the nearest female. Me. He put the knife in his hand to my neck, so close that I could feel the edge of it on my skin. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping…

"I'll do it, I'm staying, just let her go!" The voice that spoke up was full of fury. And didn't belong to Ben.

'_No!'_ My eyes snapped open as Mitch released me, pushing me away like I was one fire. I looked up, searching his face. I struggled through the water, towards the center of the room where he was leaning against the lever, looking exhausted.

"No, damn it, you promised!" I climbed up to meet him, livid. "You promised me you wouldn't! You told me that you wouldn't do this again!"

"I have to." There was a quiet determination in his wavering voice. "You have to understand -"

"No I don't! I don't have to understand why you always…" I trailed off, fighting tears. "Why do you have to keep saving me? I'm tired of you trying to play superhero for me when you don't need to."

"I'm staying." He said fiercely, and I realized that it would be pointless to argue with. I stared down at the stone he was standing on, trying to keep from totally collapsing. "Kathleen?" My head snapped back up. "Take care of yourself, OK? For me? And our _baby_?" He turned his head to the side, grinning. I couldn't believe it; he was about to die and he was still making jokes. How typical of him.

My lips couldn't form any coherent words. So instead I give him one short kiss, one that had a sharp bite of finality to it. Like I would never see him again.

"I love you." I whispered tearfully, my hand lingering on his cheek for a minute. I looked him deep into the eyes before I stepped back and he pushed with all his might, opening the door. I was sucked under the rushing water, and soon I was under the door and on the other side with Nicole and Abigail. I resurfaced, gasping for air. I glared venomously at the stone door, continuing to sit in the water that slowly went down. I could hardly distinguish the tears on my cheeks from the other water. I glanced up at Nicole, who was looking at me sorrowfully.

The door opened again, this time sweeping in Patrick and Emily. I waited anxiously, closing my eyes as I prayed silently.

'_Please don't let him die. Please, God, don't let Riley die.'_

I realized I was being incredibly selfish, but I hardly cared then. It was all I could think about. The door opened a third time, and my eyes opened hopefully. Ben's head was the only to resurface and I swam over to him in an instant.

"Riley…" My voice sounded so weak and pleading. He cast a look to the big stone door, looking unsure.

"I don't know." He said quietly, answering the question I hadn't been able to voice. "Maybe." I knew Ben was just as desperate as I was to save him, whatever we had to do to do it.

There was a long, tension-filled minute, and the chamber was deadly silent except for the sound of the water beating against the door. Then the door finally went up, and a person floated beneath, and Ben went under to retrieve whoever it was. I closed my eyes, choking back sobs as Nicole tried to comfort me. The door closed with a final thud and I counted a few seconds in my head, clinging to my final hope.

"Kathleen." Nicole finally spoke, squeezing my hand. "Open your eyes." I did it, and gasped loudly, my hand flying to my mouth.

Ben held a limp Riley in his arms, trying to figure out what to do next. There was a gash on Riley's forehead that was bleeding profusely, and everything remained silent.

Finally I moved forward, my eyes searching Ben's face. "He's not…"

But Riley gave a little cough, then coughed again, spitting water out of his mouth, gasping for air. He took a few more deep breaths, and then his blue eyes fluttered open. Ben set him down gently on the stone, and I gave him a few seconds to recover. Then I fell forward, pulling him to me.

"God damn it, Riley, if you ever pull anything like that again, I'll kill you myself!" I cried into his shoulder. "You are such an idiot!"

"Right." He replied weakly. "Never again." I laughed, and everyone started talking at once, trying to make sure he was OK, concerned about the cut on his forehead, wondering what happened to Wilkinson. But I didn't even notice. I looked up at him and smiled, burying my face in the crook of his neck.

"Kathleen?" He murmured, and I looked up.

"Yes?"

"I…I love you too."

And I laughed again, kissing his cheek. "Thank you."

-OoOoOoO-

We emerged from the cave into the bright South Dakota sunlight, soaked, but relatively unharmed. Except for Riley and his forehead. Ben went off on his own to call Sadusky and see if he could send anyone to help us.

"You're bleeding." I whispered, squeezing Riley's hand.

He lifted his hand to his forehead absently. "I am? I-It doesn't hurt at all."

"Really?" I raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"It doesn't hurt." He insisted, shaking his head weakly.

"Well, what happened?" I coaxed.

"After I had Wilkinson make Ben leave, a rock fell into the tunnel and knocked me off the lever. I'm guessing I hit my head on something, which probably caused this." He pointed to his forehead. "Then Wilkinson took over the live. I tried to tell him we could all get out, but he just decided to let me go instead. I guess he wanted to die more than he wanted me to die."

"Wait, why'd he let you go?" I was confused, and Riley shrugged.

"I couldn't tell you." He sighed, staring off in the distance.

"What's the matter?"

"I almost feel kind of guilty, you know?" He spoke quietly, not looking at me anymore. "Like maybe if I'd done something differently then Mitch wouldn't have had to die and we could've… I don't know, we would've figured something else out if we had to. It just doesn't seem very fair. He probably had someone who loved him too. He might not have been a very good person at times, but he was still a _person_ like me or anyone else."

I stayed, silent, reflecting on what he'd just said. "Riley…" I spoke soothingly. "Even if you hadn't been the one to stay, the outcome would've been the same. There was nothing you could do, love."

The guilt was still evident in his eyes, but I decided not to press it any further. Besides, at that moment our rescue trucks were pulling up. I placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, helping him to his feet.

"Come on, love, let's get you cleaned up."

**-OoOoOoO-**

**Now I'm doubly sad. Writing that made me sad.**

**What did you guys think? I love hearing your feedback, so pretty please review! **


	18. XVIII: Loose Ends

**Oh, only one more chapter after this!! –gasp- I'm so going to miss this. :(**

**I have a very important poll up on my profile, so please vote if you haven't already. The question is if I should have a third piece of the Nicole and Kathleen series, and I really need to know how you all feel about it before I can finish this story. So please PLEASE vote!**

**Well, no more chatting, Chapter 18!**

**-OoOoOoO-**

_**Nicole**_

I looked around from my seat, taking another sip of my drink as I waited for the fireworks to begin. I was actually sitting alone and trying to look for Ben, even though I wasn't sure I wanted to.

It had been two days after we'd discovered Cibola, so they'd set up some sort of party and fireworks display for us. Riley and Kathleen had decided to stay at the hotel instead, so I was pretty much alone, which I was more or less OK with. I just needed a little time to think before going off to talk with Ben. I wasn't sure how easy or hard it would be, but I was prepared for it to be a little hard, just in case.

'_If only I could find him.' _

Finally, I got irritated and bounced to my feet, setting off to find him myself. And I did, eventually. Actually, I think _bumped into _would be the correct term. I actually ended up pouring the soda down front of his sweater. He looked up, looking like he was about to tell me off until he realized who I was.

"Oh, Nicole, it's you."

"Sorry," I muttered, half tempted to run away and hide in the forest or something. But I stayed rooted in place, searching his face for a moment. "I think we need to talk." I said slowly, quickly looking down at the ground.

He nodded. "Yeah, I was just coming to find you." He motioned for me to follow him, and we went over to a more private place so we could be alone. I hopped up to sit on the rock ledge and looked down at him again briefly and then up at the stars before I started speaking.

"This isn't really working out, is it? I mean, us being together and everything…"

"Not really, no." He confessed with a quiet sigh. "I'm sorry, Nicole, I think I was just looking for… A distraction, or something, I dunno. I mean, don't take it the wrong way, I do like you, you're a nice girl, but -"

"It's OK." I said, putting a hand up to shush him. He looked surprised. "I get it, Ben, I really do. I think we were both trying to find some sort of distraction. You still love Abigail, and believe it or not, I don't have a problem with that. You two belong together, you're happy together, and I don't want to mess that up for you. I get it. We could just forget this happened and move on, you know."

He blinked, looking surprised by my speech. Then there was an awkward silence, until he spoke up again. "So… where does that leave us now?"

"Right where we were before, I guess. Friends." I shrugged. "If that's OK with you, anyways. We could work that out.

"Yeah, that's fine. Friends." He repeated, and I smiled, giving him a brief hug.

"Enjoy the party." I winked, and then slid away, back into the crowd of people. "Well, that was rather easy. Almost too easy.

I felt a lot better after that, knowing that we had tied up that loose end. Now it was time for me to have a little fun. I went up and purchased myself a soda and a few other souvenirs before going back to where I'd been sitting before. However, another distraction caught my eye, so I shrugged to myself and went to where he was sitting, tapping him on the shoulder. I grinned at him, sliding into the seat beside him.

"Hey, I'm Nicole. What's your name?"

"Greg."

"Hi, Greg. Mind if I sit here?"

**-OoOoOoO-**

_**Kathleen**_

"Hey, how you feeling?" I pressed my hand to Riley's forehead as he stirred, waking up from his brief nap. He groaned, wincing as I touched the bandage on his head.

"Better." He murmured, rolling over. "It doesn't hurt as much as it did earlier."

"That's good." I said with a smile, muting the television. "Did you enjoy your nap?"

"Yes." He nodded, stretching his arms. He half crawled across the bed, swinging his legs to the floor as his arm slipped around my waist. "What were you doing while I was sleeping, Miss Katy?"

I laughed, snuggling into his arms. "Watching you sleep. You talk, you know."

"No!" He gasped, his eyes growing wide. "God, what'd I say?"

"Nothing much, really. You said my name a lot, though. And something about chicken." I giggled.

"Ah, that reminds me, I'm starving." He slid off the bed, grabbing a few things out of his suitcase. "What do you say we go downstairs and grab something to eat after I clean up?"

"Sounds good to me." I smiled. I fell back onto the bed, propping my head up on my arms. It was nice to not have to worry about too much anymore. That part was over, thankfully.

'_But the worst part is yet to come. Goodbye.'_

I sighed, frowning to myself. It almost felt selfish, but I didn't want to leave. I was having such an amazing time here, my home almost seemed pale in comparison. And of course, I'd miss Riley immensely.

Before I could think anything else of it, Riley appeared from the bathroom, appearing a bit more decent.

"Let's go, then."

"OK." I switched off the TV and hopped to my feet, bounding over to where he was standing. He grinned at me strangely. "What?"

"It's funny." He remarked, stepping out of the room. "You nearly jump on every chance to be near me that you possibly can. No one's ever done that before. I find that flattering."

I blushed, staring down at the floor. "I think you're right." I giggled. "I think I do." I paused, looking around the hallway. "And the thing is, whenever I _am_ near you, my heart speeds up and I have to try really hard not to trip over my words and sometimes I think I'm going to go crazy just being near you. You're just so amazing."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow, grinning.

"Yeah," I smiled. "You're like a drug or something. You should be illegal."

He laughed. "You're just as bad, because you do exactly the same to me, you know." We stepped into the empty elevator of the hotel, and as the door shut he put his arm around my waist, breathing in the scent of my hair. "You are absolutely intoxicating."

I giggled, blushing red. "You're just saying that."

"No I'm not, I promise." He gave me a brief kiss on the lips, smiling.

"This seems so familiar." I said. "Like it was in the beginning. That giggly nervous feeling is so familiar."

"I know…"

The elevator lurched to a stop and the doors dinged open. I moved to walk out, but he pulled me back to him, hitting the button to close the door.

"You know, maybe we could just order room service instead? And then afterwards we could just stay in and… play?" He gave me a suggestive look as his finger trailed down my spine. I shivered and turned around, pulling his face down just inches from mine.

"What are you trying to do, exactly?" I quirked an eyebrow. "Because if you're trying to seduce me or something… It worked." I kissed him hard, suddenly needing to have his warm lips against my own. He reacted with the same intensity, and a minute later I was pinned to the wall of the elevator, gasping for breath while he smirked at me.

"I'm guessing that's a yes?"

**-OoOoOoO-**

**Well, what'd you think? Reviews are love. :) **


	19. XIX: A Proposal

**Oh, wow, last chapter, so much to say, so much to say… You all know I'm going to miss this story ever so much! And you guys, my lovely, lovely reviewers. Jeez, there aren't enough words in the English language for me to express how much I appreciate you guys being there for me, encouraging me, and of course reading! After all, where would an author be if no one read what she wrote? So, here goes: (In no particular order…)**

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**Do you guys have any idea how many people that is? 31 people reviewed this story!! And this is the most reviews I've **_**ever**_** had for a story!! You're all fantastic!!**

**And of course, I love you alllllll!! But one person actually reviewed every chapter, and that was Heather aka Rocki, the girl who's even dubbed herself 'my avid reviewer'. And that made me giggle. XP**

**Also, my poll concerning a third story is still open and will remain open until the end of October. Please do vote!! I can't say much about the planned plot of #3, because I don't want to ruin any of the surprise value to it. However, I will say it will be quite different than this story, and no treasure is involved. **

**Well, I suppose that's it then. My love to you all!! Enjoy the last chapter!**

**-Michelle/ Angelic Prophecy**

**-OoOoOoO-**

The days passed all too soon, and before I knew it, it was the day we would leave. I knew it that very morning when I saw the clothes Riley had chosen to wear that morning, and I winced seeing him in them. It made leaving all too real for me, like it was officially over. I couldn't help but wonder how much time would pass in this universe before I would see him again. Two years? Three? Five?

We were all staying with Ben and Abigail, trying to enjoy the few days we all had left together. I was surprised at how well Ben and Nicole got along, in spite of their recent break-up. Even Nicole and Abigail didn't seem to be holding any grudges, and it was a little weird to see the two of them acting at least mildly friendly towards each other. I hadn't expected Nicole to have a grudge, though; she's just not that kind of person.

We all sat at the breakfast table on the final morning. Nicole and I had anxious looks that we exchanged, knowing it was possibly the last time we'd see each other again. Apparently the other three could read our faces, because they seemed to allow the breakfast to move extremely slow, letting the time pass. After everyone was finished, we all sat there for a moment, crushed by the silence. Finally we all stood up, bidding each other farewell, hoping everything would work well for all of us, hugging each other good-bye. It was odd to me, because Nicole hardly hugged anyone, and here she was, hugging _everyone_. We had to face it; this had become a big part of our lives, and we had all become a close-knit group of friends.

Nicole graciously chose to remain behind at Ben and Abigail's house while Riley and I walked to this apartment, where the Ferrari would be waiting to finish everything for us.

We set off, trying to take slow, tiny steps to avoid getting there too quickly. We walked hand-in-hand, talking, laughing, and reminiscing all the way. We reached the apartment, and Riley was so engrossed in the conversation that he didn't even notice what awaited him in front of his house.

"Riley." I nudged him gently, pointing. He turned around, gasping.

"My car!" He ran over to it, snatching up the envelope from the windshield with almost child-like excitement. He opened it anxiously, smiling to himself as he read the words 'Tax-free' written in bold letters on the envelope. However, the smile slowly faded as he carefully tucked the paper inside the envelope, looking off at something in the distance. "Somehow, it's… It's not as good as it could be."

"I know." I stepped closer, touching his shoulder. Then I gave him a playful smile. "Go on, get in."

He grinned and jumped over the door, sliding gracefully into the seat. I laughed, shaking my head.

"Did you practice that or something?"

"Everyday." He smirked back. "You try it."

I did, only I didn't slide in as gracefully as he had. I landed hard on the seat, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment as I repositioned myself. He laughed, shaking his head.

"It takes practice." He shrugged, his smile fading again. We stared at each other for a long moment, my eyes suddenly filling with unwarranted tears that threatened to spill over onto my cheeks.

"You know," he spoke up, "I know what I was staying behind for in Cibola. I wanted to save Ben, Patrick, Emily, Abby, Nicole… But that never even occurred to me until later. Because in that tunnel, I could only see one thing. It was the only thing I could even think about saving." He cupped my face in his hands gently. "This. This thing that fell through a hole in the sky and changed _everything_. This beautiful thing that showed me what I was here for, this thing that made me feel something, something I'd never..."

That did it. The tears flowed past my eyelids, trickling down my cheeks. "God-damn-it, Riley, you're making this harder for me than it already is." I cried and laughed at the same time, shaking my head. He didn't respond, but pressed his lips to mine tenderly, his hands still holding my face. He released me, brushing the moisture from my cheek.

"Don't cry, you'll be back again someday, I know you will."

"But how long will it be before I can see you again? How much is going to change when we're apart?" I choked slightly on the words, barely able to spit them out.

"Stop, you'll ruin your make-up." Riley laughed quietly, kissing me again. "Don't worry, I won't forget you. That would be impossible."

I tried to calm myself, taking a deep breath and rubbing my eyes. I finally forced a tiny smile onto my face. "OK, I'm ready. Start her up."

He nodded, turning the key and started the car. He took a deep breath, rubbing his hands on the steering wheel. "I love this car." He murmured to himself. Then he turned to me, kissing my cheek. "And I love you, remember that." He was about to hit the gas, when I remembered something.

"Wait!" I put a hand on his arm, and he gave me a confused look. I looked down at my hand, remembering how all this had started. I carefully slid the ring off my finger, holding it up to show him. "What was _this_ supposed to mean?"

"Oh…" His cheeks turned pink. "I…I dunno, I just wanted to get something for you to…to remember me by. It…It belonged to my mom when she was my age, but it didn't fit her anymore, so she gave it to me and told me that I was supposed to use it as a… sort of like a p-promise ring. For the girl who I…The girl that would be mine someday." He looked at me seriously. "And I want _you_ to be mine. One day, you _will_ be."

The awkwardness and stuttering in the sentence made me giggle. I had to admit, it was just too cute. Then the last sentence sunk in.

'_I'll be his someday.'_

I blinked, then threw my arms around his neck. "You _mean_ that?"

"Yeah, of course. I don't say things I don't mean. Not to you, anyways. Well, I don't think it was meant that way at the time, but now that I've had time to think about it, that's what I want it to mean."

"But how?" I asked doubtfully.

"We'll figure out something, Katy." He spoke with confidence. "We all do, right?"

I fell back into my seat, giggling. "So, what does that mean exactly? Are we _engaged_ or something now?"

His face turned red. "Uh, well, I wouldn't say that, but, uh…"

"Aww, relax, Riley, I'm just teasing." I sat back in my seat, taking a deep breath. "I think I ought to be going now. Before I lose it again."

"Right." He said slowly, hitting the gas pedal. I squeezed my eye's shut, hearing the tires squeal and metal crash against other metal. Then the familiar dissolving sensation began, the static blasting in my ears. It stopped, and I opened my eyes.

However, I was most definitely _not _in Nicole's room.

It was just utter blackness. I didn't even think we were standing on anything. It reminded me of some kind of dream-world, like you'd see in a cartoon or something. Nicole stood next to me, looking as confused as I felt.

"Where are we?" She asked, blinking.

"That's a very good question, one I'd love to answer if I could."

We both jumped and let out shouts of surprise, whirling around to face the person who'd spoken to us. He jumped back a foot, letting out his own shout.

"Oh," he laughed, putting a hand to his heart. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I'm new at this."

I blinked, looking at him closely. He looked…familiar. Finally, something clicked in my head. "Do I know you? Because you like exactly like…Like Jon Turteltaub."

"The guy who directed National Treasure?!" Nicole sounded incredulous. "But how…"

The guy gave me a funny look, and then looked down at himself, starting to laugh again.

"Oh, right, I forgot this part. Sorry, like I said, I'm new. We just show up as different people depending on what we're assigned to, which is why I look like this, I guess."

"Who are you?" Nicole asked loudly, appearing slightly annoyed. I was too; annoyed with this guy who

"Oh, I'm not sure what I am really. I suppose I'm a guardian angel or something like that, I don't really know, nobody explained it to me." He pursed his lips, pacing around a little as he spoke. "My bosses sent me; I can't say who they are either, but they're in charge of all this stuff."

"What stuff?" Now I was totally lost. This guy had to be insane.

"You know, time, space, the universe, that stuff." He shrugged. "It's a whole system that they take care of. And, well, you see, there was a bit of a… _glitch_ in our system that allowed the two of you to fall through that portal into that alternate dimension, blah, blah, blah, and they couldn't fix it before you discovered it."

He paused, as if not sure where else to go with this story. "See, it takes very… _special _people to go through these glitches without being ripped to shreds…" All of us winced when he said that. "So, I guess there must be something special about you guys, and my bosses sent me to give you your… reward."

"Reward?" Nicole asked skeptically. "What kind of reward?"

"You get the chance to stay in one universe or the other." He shrugged simply. "We'll give you a one-year test-run in the alternate universe; let you hang around in between for a year. If you don't like it, you can come back home, and no time passed in your universe, so you'll go right back to the day you left. It's quite simple, really. Well, for us it is."

Of course, I was ready to shout out "YES!" at the top of my lungs, but Nicole was obviously a bit more reluctant. She grabbed me by the arm, pulling me away so we could discuss it in private.

"I don't know, Kathleen." She said slowly. "What if something goes wrong? I mean, I don't want to play dice with the universe here. I'm not sure we should do this."

"Nothing will go wrong." I reassured her gently. "We'll be extra careful and nothing will happen. We'll be fine."

She sighed, closing her eyes. "Oh, alright, but you should know I'm only doing this for you." She paused. "Well, that and I like Abigail's cooking."

"Thank you!" I threw my arms around her neck. "Oh, you won't regret this! I promise!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. Now let go of me."

I quickly released her, and she went to give our consent. The angel-guy smiled, nodding enthusiastically. He seemed to enjoy this job.

"Great. There's just one last thing you need to know." He snapped his fingers, and two boxes appeared out of thin air in our hands. Nicole and I exchanged confused looks.

"Music boxes?"

"Well, mirrors are getting kind of clichéd." He shrugged. "Anyways, if you open both boxes at a time in the same room, it'll serve as an early portal back home. In case something happens where you can't stay anymore. It's like an emergency door out."

"OK…" Nicole said slowly. "That's really it? No conditions, nothing?"

"That's really it. Now excuse me, I must be off. I have a lunch date that I cannot afford to miss. Good luck!" He snapped his fingers again, disappearing. We both dissolved in another burst of static, and the next thing I knew I was sitting in the front seat of the Ferrari again.

I heard Riley in the back, trying to figure out the damage to his car.

"Why was this guy parked so close to my car, I mean, for God's sake, how was I supposed to…" He trailed off, shaking his head. He looked up for a fleeting second, then looked back down again. Then it seemed to click, and his head snapped back up, his eyes growing. "K-Kathleen? You…"

"In the flesh." I grinned happily, opening the car door to run around and jump up onto him, my arms wrapping around his neck. "For a whole year too. I'll explain later."

"A year, really?" He looked shocked and elated at the same time. "That's incredible!" He kissed me enthusiastically. I pulled away, my mouth falling open.

"Wow, a girl's gone for three minutes and that's the welcome you give her?" I smirked. "I should go away more often, then."

"No way!" He protested, pulling me by the hand up the stairs to his apartment. He unlocked the door and threw it open. He ignored my squeaks of protest as he scooped me up. "You're not going _anywhere_!"

"Riley!" I giggled. "Sweeping me off my feet, that's so _cliché._"

"Hey, didn't you say this was a Disney movie?" He pointed out, unceremoniously dropping me onto his couch. "I can be clichéd if I want to."

"Yeah, Prince Charming." I rolled my eyes, sitting up to kiss him. It felt fitting. After all, he had a point; it was Disney. And what kind of Disney movie would it be if I didn't have my prince to carry me off to what I could only assume would be my very own happily ever after?

**-OoOoOoO-**

**Well, I actually like the ending of a story for once! Yay! **

**Umm, one last review, please?**


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